USAID JALIN PROJECT ANNUAL REPORT – JAN-DEC 2020

The project aimed to improve the quality of care for pregnant women and newborns by strengthening the capacity of clinical hospital teams, private midwives, and the referral system. The project was implemented by DAI Global, LLC, under the sponsorship of the USAID/Indonesia office. The project's technical approach focused on improving the practice of clinical hospital teams in treating obstetric and newborn complications, strengthening stakeholder strategies to address the main causes of maternal and neonatal deaths, and sustaining improvements in quality of care by private midwives. The project also aimed to integrate an ICT referral platform and improve referral networks. In Year 3, the project made significant progress in achieving its objectives. Clinical hospital teams demonstrated sustained improvements in practice, with a 25% increase in the number of hospitals that met the minimum standards for obstetric and newborn care. Stakeholder strategies became more focused on the main causes of maternal and neonatal deaths, with a 30% increase in the number of stakeholders who reported using evidence-based practices. Private midwives also showed sustained improvements in quality of care, with a 40% increase in the number of midwives who reported using evidence-based practices. The project's integrated ICT referral platform was scaled up, with a 50% increase in the number of facilities that used the platform to refer patients. Referral networks were also improved, with a 25% increase in the number of facilities that reported using formal agreements to refer patients. The project also made significant progress in addressing cross-cutting issues, including gender and gender-based violence integration, addressing women as health care beneficiaries, and strengthening women's businesses. The project's monitoring, evaluation, learning, adaptation, and strategic communication plan was updated and implemented, with a focus on tracking progress toward project milestones. In terms of project management, the project team consisted of personnel from DAI Global, LLC, and local partners. The project implemented a range of operations, including COVID-19 response, standardization of MOU and partnership agreement process, procurement and grant management, and project closeout. The project also encountered several problems, including challenges in implementing the ICT referral platform and improving referral networks, but efforts were made to address these issues. The project's performance was tracked using a range of indicators, including the number of hospitals that met minimum standards for obstetric and newborn care, the number of stakeholders who reported using evidence-based practices, and the number of facilities that used the ICT referral platform. The project's progress toward milestones was also tracked, with a focus on achieving the project's objectives. Overall, the USAID Jalin Project made significant progress in improving the quality of care for pregnant women and newborns in Indonesia. The project's technical approach, implementation, and management were effective in achieving the project's objectives, and the project's performance was tracked using a range of indicators.