Aga Khan Foundation Canada

Purpose

The project, Access to Quality Care Through Extending and Strengthening Health Systems (AQCESS), aims to improve the health of mothers, newborns and children (MNCH) of communities and populations in select regions in Mali, Mozambique, Kenya and Pakistan. In these regions some MNCH indicators, such as maternal mortality, skilled birth attendance, stunting prevalence and under five mortality, are particularly poor, with women and children still lack access to essential health services. The regions targeted by the project lack adequate numbers of appropriately skilled health workers, have weak health system management, offer care of generally poor quality, and include communities with limited knowledge on how to protect and promote the health of mothers and children, and high levels of gender inequality. Project activities include: (1) equipping and upgrading health facilities for: safer deliveries and newborn care, treating infections and malnutrition, facilitating eHealth applications, and improved disposal of biomedical waste; (2) training facility-based health workers and health care managers on topics including human resource management, use of clinical guidelines, evidence-based decision-making, and gender equality; (3) mobilizing local communities to adopt healthy behaviours; (4) providing essential health services at the community level; (5) training health workers and communities to collect, analyze and use administrative health data and contribute to reporting data through government information systems; and (6) engaging key project stakeholders on the results of project impact assessments and their relevance to policy dialogue. This initiative also includes a public engagement component designed to increase understanding of global MNCH issues among the Canadian public. This initiative is expected to contribute directly to the improved health of approximately 1.3 million people, including over 330,000 children, and 1.5 million people indirectly. Aga Khan Foundation Canada is implementing this project in collaboration with the following local partners: Aga Khan Foundation Mozambique; Aga Khan Health Service, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme; Aga Khan Foundation, in Pakistan; Aga Khan University of East Africa and Aga Khan Health Service (AKHS) East Africa, in Kenya.