The Human Resources Collaborative: Improving Maternal and Child Care in Niger

The project was supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its Office of HIV/AIDS in the Bureau for Global Health, with funding from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The project aimed to improve maternal and child care in Niger by addressing the country's severe human resources crisis. The project was implemented by staff of University Research Co., LLC (URC) and Initiatives Inc. through the USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI), which is managed by URC under the terms of Contract Number GHN-I-03-07-00003-00. The project's goal was to improve the performance of health workers in Niger, with a focus on increasing the number of deliveries assisted by qualified health workers, improving adherence to essential newborn care (ENC) norms, and reducing mortality from severe malaria among children under five years. The project's intervention included launching the Tahoua HR Collaborative, which brought together health workers, quality improvement (QI) teams, and other stakeholders to work together to improve health care delivery. The collaborative approach involved learning sessions, coaching, and the implementation of a performance cycle to measure and monitor progress. The project also implemented the Human Resources Performance Improvement Change Package, which aimed to improve the performance of health workers in Niger. The project's results showed significant improvements in health worker performance and clinical outcomes. The number of deliveries assisted by qualified health workers increased by 25% between 2009 and 2011, and adherence to ENC norms improved by 30% during the same period. The project also reported a 20% reduction in mortality from severe malaria among children under five years between 2009 and 2011. Health worker engagement was also a key focus of the project, with results showing that the percentage of health workers with job descriptions increased from 20% in 2009 to 80% in 2011. The project also reported a significant increase in the number of health workers who received feedback discussions, with 70% of health workers receiving feedback in 2011 compared to 20% in 2009. The project's findings suggest that the collaborative approach was effective in improving health worker performance and clinical outcomes in Niger. The project's results also highlight the importance of addressing the human resources crisis in Niger, which is a major challenge to improving maternal and child care in the country. The project's recommendations include scaling up the collaborative approach to other regions in Niger and providing ongoing support to health workers to improve their performance and clinical outcomes.