What is the problem?

Although there has been some improvement in child and maternal health in Ghana in the last two decades, mothers and children are still dying from preventable causes. The 2017 Maternal and health Survey reported under-five mortality ratio to be 52 deaths per 1,000 live births (GMHS, 2017). Maternal mortality ratio in 2017 stood at 319 deaths per 1,000 births, as revealed by the Health Minister during a ceremony to unveil combined Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Record Book for Ghana (Myjoyonline, 29-10-2017).

Nevertheless, more efforts need to be put in place by Government and its partners, like World Vision, in order to attain the Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births and reducing under-five mortality to less than 12 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030. Furthermore, reducing 19% under five stunting; 11.0% underweight and 5% wasting (GDHS, 2014) will require attempts made to improve upon maternal and child nutritional status through appropriate feeding practices, immunization and adherence to good health practices.

What we want to do:

We want all children, especially the most vulnerable children within families and communities in World Vision Ghana’s operational areas, to have improved health and nutritional status. We work towards this by ensuring that:

• All children under-five, especially the most vulnerable, have reduced malnutrition.
• All children, especially the most vulnerable and mothers have reduced the impact of preventable diseases and maternal deaths.
• All children, especially the most vulnerable and adolescents, have improved Sexual and Reproductive and Health (SRH) status. 
• All children, especially the most vulnerable, benefit from policies influenced towards strengthened local health system and structures.

How is World Vision addressing the issues?

The Health Programme realigned its activities to the current partnership Core Project Models and approaches namely Channels of Hope, Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (CoH- MNCH) and Community Health Committees (COMM) models are being implemented to help contribute towards improved maternal and childhood nutrition and health status.

ACHIEVEMENTS

• 479 lead facilitators trained on nutrition and health approaches to provide support for the various mother-to-mother support groups in their respective communities.
• 139 mother-to-mother support groups (MtMSG) formed to promote maternal and child nutritional practices.
• 97 MtMSGs were giving capacity on savings for transformation to help improve upon their economic status for improved maternal and child nutrition.
• 5861 women and caregivers were reached in 87 different communities with food demonstration sessions using locally-available food.
• 1,566 Caregivers/mothers and children from 20 different communities sensitized on Micronutrient-rich foods
• 6,775 Caregivers/mothers and children reached in 42 communities in promotion of improved hygiene and hand washing practices
• 1,987 Caregivers/mothers and children reached sensitized on preventable diseases
• 7409 pregnant women and mothers of children 0-24 months old received counseling on optimum nutritional practices, antenatal and Post-natal care.
• 449 Health staff and volunteers received various capacities in lactation management, IMNCI and Improved service delivery in malaria. 
• 48 Clinicians capacity built on improved service delivery in malaria. 
• 45 Health facilities have benefited from medical supplies and other deliverables through GIK.
• 43 facilitators were trained in the functionality of community Health Committee System, a Programme which is been implemented by Ghana Health service under its Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Programme aimed at giving the capacity to community members to mobilize locally-available resources and also advocate for improved health services within their respective communities.
• 58 Community health Committees received capacity to support in primary healthcare delivery in their respective communities.
• 31,312 children were reached with age-appropriate immunization in the expanded immunization coverage
• 1,264 children monitored for their growth in 22 communities
• 20 daddies’ clubs were formed, aimed at creating a platform for men groups to champion the discussions on maternal newborn and child health-related issues in their respective communities.
• 101 Congregations Hope Action Teams (CHATs) formed to help integrate messages during their religious gatherings on Maternal, New-born and Child Health as well as the significance of spacing pregnancy for at least 2 years.
• 435 peer educators were trained to serve as ambassadors to promote ending violence against children, teenage pregnancies and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) related issues affecting the youth.
• 46 active CVA groups formed to monitor improved health standards
• 54 Bufalo bicycles provided to 54 Community Based Health Volunteers to aid in their disease surveillance and home visit activities to support in primary healthcare delivery in their respective communities

WHAT ARE THE RESULTS?

The results of these activities have therefore contributed to 87.86% of children being exclusively breastfed until six months of age, 56.32% of children receiving dietary diversity; 18.94% stunting prevalence,13.72% underweight prevalence and 8.92% of wasting prevalence recorded respectively; 86.05% of households reported yes to all children under 5 years sleeping under a long-lasting insecticide-treated net (LLIN) the previous night; the survey also recorded; 84.47% coverage of essential vaccines among children; 25% of women practicing birth spacing; 82.37% of women reporting having had four antenatal visits while they were pregnant with their youngest child. And 74.47% having their deliveries supervised by a skilled birth attendant. (AMIC, 2018).

The contribution of World Vision together with the Faith Leaders, District Health Management Team and the community groups towards achieving these results cannot be overemphasized, the results, on the other hand, calls for more efforts and community engagements sessions to attain SDG target of reducing maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 1,000 live births and under-five mortality ratio of less than 12 per 1,000 live births.

USAID Funded Act to End Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) |West Program

The USAID’s funded Act to End Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDS) | West Program is a 5-year program (2018-2023), supported by the United States Government.  FHI360, serves as consortium lead partner and brings together World Vision, Deloitte, AIM Initiative, and Americares to tackle NTDs in eleven (11) endemic countries within West Africa. World Vision directly implements in Ghana, Niger, Mali, Senegal and Sierra Leonne and provides support to 6 other participating countries.

The main goal of this program is to support the elimination of NTDs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. The project aims to make national NTD programs capable of sustaining treatment for long-term control programs for Schistosomiasis (SCH), Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis (STH) and onchocerciasis and mainstream NTD programs into the national health system.

World Vision provides technical assistance and support to Act to End NTDs | West countries on strengthening cross-sectoral coordination for WASH, malaria, nutrition and school-based programming etc. Additionally, the project also aims to integrate NTD messaging into WASH, Malaria, Maternal and Child health and School Programming. In Ghana, WV works closely with the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service in collaboration with FHI360 and consortium partners. Other relevant stakeholders include the School Health Education Program (SHEP) under the Ghana Education Service, the media and private institutions.

KIA Green Light Project

The KIA Green Light Project seeks to contribute to achieving the child wellbeing aspirations of reducing diseases and infections and ensuring that the children are well nourished in the Fanteakwa South District. The main goal is contributing to reduction of the maternal and child mortalities and morbidities in the Fanteakwa South District.

The project is intended to improve health system and structures; reduce impact of vaccine preventable diseases and infections; and reduce malnutrition among children under five (5) through two broad specific objectives such as improve access and quality of health care services provided by health staff and volunteers and improve the health, nutrition and social well-being of the most vulnerable populations, including infants and young children.

The project is located in Osino sub-district of Fanteakwa South District and will directly benefit 37,145 people made up of 15201 men, 15633 women, 2811 boys and 3500 girls.

The major donor to the project is KIA Automobile Company of Korea. The 5-year project, which commenced in July, 2018 will be ending in June, 2023. The project is being implemented in partnership with KIA Motors, Korea and World Vision (Korea/Ghana). Additional implementation partners are Fanteakwa South District Assembly, Ghana Health Service (GHS), Department of Food and Agriculture (DoFA), Ghana Education Service and National Commission for Civic Education.

To establish benchmarks for child wellbeing indicators baseline survey. Baseline data was collected in the following areas; Children U5 nutritional status, Maternal and child health, Immunization status for children U5, Type and level of institutional and community capacity building activities and the Knowledge and uptake of improved health behaviours at the community level.

The project will establish an income generating activity as part of the processes to meet funding requirements for project sustainability. The income generating activity will financially sustain the operationalization of the health center and mobile clinic activities. The implementation will commence in November, 2020. To improve access to health care services especially in hard to reach areas of the district, the project will procure and deploy mobile clinic van to facilitate access to health care services.