Quarterly Progress Report #1, October - December 2014: Saving Maternity Homes in Ghana Project

The project focuses on expanding availability of health services, increasing engagement of younger midwives, improving quality of health services provided by Private Maternity Homes (PMHs), and increasing private financing for PMHs. Project milestones achieved during the first quarter of FY15 include organizing project systems, hiring staff, developing basic project documents, and establishing working relationships with the Ghana Registered Midwives Association (GRMA) and other stakeholders in the health sector. By the end of the quarter, the project became fully operational, organized its office at the premises of GRMA, and developed key documents, including a workplan, monitoring and evaluation plan, baseline survey, and schedule for baseline survey implementation in the six regions of Ghana. Task 1 of the project involved pre-investment capacity building and identification of PMHs for transformation. This task was completed, with 15 PMHs identified for transformation. Task II focused on brokering PMH ownership/management transfers, which was also completed. Task III aimed to increase the capacity of PMHs under new management, and Task IV sought to strengthen the capacity of GRMA. Cross-cutting activities included monitoring and evaluation, which was initiated during the first quarter. Expenditures for the first quarter totaled $X, with the majority allocated to personnel costs, travel, and training. The project has established a comprehensive list of PMHs in the six project regions, which is available in Annex G. The project has also developed a quality assessment tool (QAT) to evaluate the quality of health services provided by PMHs. The project has made significant progress in the first quarter, with key documents developed and project systems organized. However, challenges remain, including the need to strengthen the capacity of GRMA and increase private financing for PMHs. The project proposes remedial actions to address these challenges and ensure successful implementation of the project. The project has established a strong partnership with GRMA and other stakeholders in the health sector, which is critical to the success of the project. The project welcomes feedback and comments on the substance and style of this report, as well as suggestions for improvement.