Health Systems Strengthening in Western Equatoria State

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (1) improved delivery of essential health services to newborns, children under five, mothers, and pregnant women; (2) strengthened management & administration modalities of the hospital; and (3) an improved enabling environment for the sustainable delivery of essential maternal, newborn and child health services.

Results achieved as of the end of the project (June 2017) include: (1) 4,510 safe deliveries at targeted health facilities including a decrease of two percentage points in the number of neonatal deaths; (2) 19,420 children under the age of one received child immunizations; (3) 2,641 pregnant women attended at least four antenatal care visits; (4) 19,375 children under five accessed outpatient pediatric services from targeted primary health care centres; (5) each of the targeted primary health care centres adopted an inventory management system for the delivery and tracking of medicines and medical supplies which helped in reducing shortages of medicine; and (6) 51 medical staff members attended at least one of the 10 different types of training provided, and 14 staff members received mentorship and coaching. These results helped to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality at Yambio State Hospital by supporting continued care for patients and establishing systems to improve hospital administration. The project also improved the delivery of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health services at the six targeted primary health care centres in Yambio County and bridged connections between the hospital and health training institutes to facilitate practical training for students.