Maternal Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP)

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See also: Crosscutting Issues

Date of Operation: 2010 – 2013newborn infant under warming lights

Primary Implementing Partner: Jhpiego

Other Implementing Partners: Save the Children, Johns Hopkins University, and John Snow, Inc.

Regions of Operation: Amhara, Oromia, SNNP, and Tigray

Goal:

To curb maternal, neonatal and child morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia.

Project Objectives:

  • Provide basic emergency obstetric and newborn care training
  • Introduce a performance improvement approach
  • Work with Integrated Family Health Project (IFHP) to identify areas where MCHIP’s maternal and newborn health experts can provide technical support, such as immediate care of the newborn
  • Provide national level technical assistance in critical areas like roll-out of the national newborn resuscitation program

Description:

The Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program is the USAID Bureau for Global Health’s flagship maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) program, which focuses on reducing maternal, neonatal and child mortality through increased access and utilization of high impact MNCH interventions and reduction of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Ethiopia’s four major regions. The MCHIP project supports the Government of Ethiopia’s initiative to curb maternal morbidity and mortality, as well as offering support to current USAID investments through the Integrated Family Health Program. IFHP’s maternal and newborn health intervention program aims to improve health practices at the household and community level through:

  • Family planning interventions
  • Increasing knowledge of the benefits of a skilled attendant at birth
  • Importance of post-partum care
  • Ensuring a minimum package of services for pregnant women at the health facility level

MCHIP expands on these efforts by providing basic emergency obstetric newborn care training, as well as introducing a performance improvement approach. The program works in four populous agrarian regions that USAID has identified as priority regions, as well as providing technical assistance on a national level.

Results:

  • Improve the quality of pre-service midwifery education
  • Support the Ethiopian Midwifery Association to lead the professionalization of midwifery
  • Train health workers in Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BEmONC ) to ensure quality of care
  • Integrate prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services into mother and neonatal health services at the health center level
  • Improve the quality of newborn care through the introduction of the Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) method and Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) of malaria
  • Increase the availability of post-partum family planning methods at the facility level
  • Support the Federal Ministry of Health National Communication and Advocacy Plan
  • Synthesize existing cultural barriers to institutional delivery, and identify, disseminate and ensure the scale-up of promising health practices