Want to improve the health status of women and children? Are you a Non governmental organization looking for a sample proposal based on maternal and child health. This proposal will surely help you. The proposed project ‘Improving Maternal and Child Health’ aims to enhance the overall health of women and children through improved access to reproductive and child health . There is a need to increase the access of women to better healthcare and also enhance their awareness to improve both maternal and child health. This proposal seeks to improve maternal and child health through a three-year-long integrated project. The project aims to improve the health status of women and children through improved access to reproductive and child health
Application form to be filled in English only.
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- Date of submission: xxxx
- Type of Grant: Organizational ☒ Individual ☐
- Project Title: Improving Maternal and Child Health in XXXX Region of XXXX.
- Focus area of the project: Maternal and Child Health Care
- The goal of the project: The proposed project aims to enhance the overall health of women and children in the XXXX Region of XXXX.
Project background
810 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth (WHO, 2017). According to various sources, the direct causes of maternal deaths include excessive blood loss, infection, high blood pressure, unsafe abortion, and obstructed labor, and the indirect causes include anemia, malaria, and heart disease. The last two decades have witnessed a significant reduction in newborn and maternal deaths; the newborn mortality was halved from 37 to 18%, between 1990 and 2020, while the global maternal mortality rate was reduced by nearly 38% between 2000 to 2017. Despite all the advances and progress made towards reducing maternal and infant mortality, a large number of deaths occur every day, especially in low-income countries, where the risk associated with maternal death is almost 130 times higher than that in a high-income country. The graph below shows the global maternal deaths between 2000 and 2017 in the different regions. It can be seen that almost two-thirds of maternal deaths occurred in Sub- Saharan Africa. The graph clearly shows that the risk of women dying from childbirth has reduced considerably over the years, but regions specifically those belonging to poor countries still have a high rate of maternal mortality indicating the health inequalities that exist.
Another issue that most poor countries face is the high rate of infant mortality. According to UNICEF, there has been remarkable progress in improving child survival between 1990 and 2017, but we are still far from achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. We need to reduce the child mortality rate to 2.5% in all countries by 2030 to attain the goal, however, globally 3.9% of all children, i.e., on average 15,000 children die every day. The graph below represents the child mortality rate in different countries.
Some facts that reiterate the gravity of the situation are appended below:
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- 7,000 babies die every day in the first month of life.
- In 2019, an estimated 2.4 million newborns died worldwide.
- Globally, about 810 women die each day from preventable complications related to pregnancy or childbirth.
- Sub-Saharan Africa records the world’s highest rates of newborn and maternal mortality.
48 million children under the age of 5 are projected to die between 2020 and 2030, half of them newborns.
There is an urgent need to end preventable maternal deaths and improve infant survival globally and reduce the disparity between the high-income and low-income countries. Along with improving the access of women to healthcare, there is also a need to improve the awareness related to the sexual and reproductive rights of women.
Project Site
The project will be implemented in the XXXX Region of XXXX. XXXX is a lower-middle-income country in Africa and has a large proportion of its population still living in poverty. XXXX is a region of XXXX, located in the south of the country. It has an area of 3,786.71 km² and a population of 204,111 (2017). It borders XXXX in the northeast and XXXX Region in the northwest.
The country has high rates of maternal mortality and also high incidents of child morbidity and mortality. Approximately, 31% of the under-five children are stunted in growth, while the maternal mortality ratio for XXXX was 437 deaths per 100,000 live births.
There is a need to increase the access of women to better healthcare and also enhance their awareness to improve both maternal and child health. The proposed project seeks to improve maternal and child health through a three-year-long integrated project.
Project Goal: The project aims to improve the health status of women and children through improved access to reproductive and child health in XXXX.
Project Objectives
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- To promote positive health-seeking behavior among communities in the region through a series of health awareness camps.
- To improve the access of women and children to quality health through mobile clinics and conducting necessary diagnostics, counseling, and consultations.
- To educate and create awareness amongst adolescent (13-17 years) students on health and nutrition through special classes and training programs.
Project Activities
The following activities have been envisaged to achieve the project objectives.
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- Health awareness sessions for the community: The real problem in the identified project site has been the reluctance of women to seek health care timely. To bring about a change in the behavior of women it is important for us to organize awareness sessions and make the women realize the importance of being healthy and issues related to childbirth, nutrition, and care. Our team of social workers will visit the identified project villages and conduct awareness sessions. Some of the topics on which awareness sessions will be conducted are as follows:
- Maternal Health
- Nutrition
- Pregnancy and care
- Child Care
- Early Diagnosis
- Health awareness sessions for the community: The real problem in the identified project site has been the reluctance of women to seek health care timely. To bring about a change in the behavior of women it is important for us to organize awareness sessions and make the women realize the importance of being healthy and issues related to childbirth, nutrition, and care. Our team of social workers will visit the identified project villages and conduct awareness sessions. Some of the topics on which awareness sessions will be conducted are as follows:
Along with conducting awareness sessions, we shall also be distributing IEC material on maternal and child health. We shall also be placing posters and banners with relevant information in public places.
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- Establishment of Women’s Health Groups: An important aspect of the project is to establish Women’s Health Groups in the project site. These clubs will be made especially for women in their reproductive age. Adolescent girls, pregnant women, and new mothers will be part of these groups. The primary purpose of these groups will be to support each other to start a healthy life. Our project team will motivate these women to be part of the women’s health groups and will ensure that all the members of the group meet once a month. During these monthly meetings, we shall discuss important topics related to maternal and child health and also screen documentaries on the given subject. We shall also develop health profiles of all the women members and will monitor their health monthly. The main purpose of these groups will be to initiate a healthy dialogue between the women of different age groups and provide a platform where women can freely discuss their health issues. A female doctor will also be present during these monthly meetings, so as to clear the doubts related to maternal and child health. Some of the benefits for the members include:
- Consultations by women doctor
- Counseling sessions
- Supplements and medicines distribution
- Monthly health monitoring
- Health recipes
- Establishment of Women’s Health Groups: An important aspect of the project is to establish Women’s Health Groups in the project site. These clubs will be made especially for women in their reproductive age. Adolescent girls, pregnant women, and new mothers will be part of these groups. The primary purpose of these groups will be to support each other to start a healthy life. Our project team will motivate these women to be part of the women’s health groups and will ensure that all the members of the group meet once a month. During these monthly meetings, we shall discuss important topics related to maternal and child health and also screen documentaries on the given subject. We shall also develop health profiles of all the women members and will monitor their health monthly. The main purpose of these groups will be to initiate a healthy dialogue between the women of different age groups and provide a platform where women can freely discuss their health issues. A female doctor will also be present during these monthly meetings, so as to clear the doubts related to maternal and child health. Some of the benefits for the members include:
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- Develop linkages with community health workers and government departments: To make the project sustainable and enhance the overall impact of the project, we shall develop linkages with the local authority and government departments. To deal with the various health-related issues in XXXX, the Ministry of Health (MoH) established a national Community Health Workers program called Rural Health Motivators (RHM). Currently, a large number of RHMs are actively working in the country to provide various health-related services. The information below reflects the main characteristics of the RHM program in XXXX Over 5000 RHMs in the country (majority female)
- The program aims to reach every household in the country
- RHMs are chosen by community leaders and work in their home communities
- MoH gives a monthly stipend of 350 Swazi Emalangeni (approximately US$ 24)
- The program stipulates working hours of 2.5 days per week
- Main RHM responsibilities:
- Visiting homesteads/households
- Referrals to health facilities
- Health education on hygiene, nutrition, antenatal care, immunization, and HIV/TB
- Community-based growth monitoring
- First aid
- Develop linkages with community health workers and government departments: To make the project sustainable and enhance the overall impact of the project, we shall develop linkages with the local authority and government departments. To deal with the various health-related issues in XXXX, the Ministry of Health (MoH) established a national Community Health Workers program called Rural Health Motivators (RHM). Currently, a large number of RHMs are actively working in the country to provide various health-related services. The information below reflects the main characteristics of the RHM program in XXXX Over 5000 RHMs in the country (majority female)
Considering the RHM program is running in several parts of the country we would leverage the vast network and develop suitable linkages with them.
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- Building capacities of the Rural Health Motivators: We shall conduct a training session for the RHMs to sensitize them about the ongoing project and also build their capacities through a training session. We will be initially training a cadre of 200 RHMs who are working in the XXXX Region. The RHMS will be trained specifically on maternal and child care on the following topics:
- Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYFC)
- Breastfeeding
- Maintaining hygiene and sanitation
- Importance of immunization
- Early childhood stimulation
- Growth Monitoring of children
- Maternal health care
- Safe delivery options
- Prenatal, Intrapartum, and postpartum care
- Malnutrition amongst pregnant women
- Making health accessible: One of the major reasons for the poor health of women in the region is the inaccessibility of quality healthcare. Our experience of working in the area shows, that people have to travel for hours to reach the nearest health care facility. To make quality health care accessible to the women of the XXXX Region, we shall start 10 mobile clinics that would provide a wide range of services for women and children. The mobile clinics will visit the project villages at a prescheduled time. Each mobile clinic will have one doctor and one nurse for consultation purposes and all the clinics will be equipped with necessary tools, equipment, and medicines. The mobile clinics will be offering the following services:
- Prenatal care- which would include screening services for pregnant women, necessary vaccination, medication, and nutrient intake.
- Postnatal care- Safe delivery, child’s care, breastfeeding, hygiene, and nutrition.
- Family planning- contraception, planning the time for pregnancy, the right age for pregnancy.
- Blood tests- Hemoglobin, calcium, blood sugar, thyroid, etc.
- Distribution of sanitary pads
- Counseling
- Immunization of children
- Training program for adolescent youth: To bring about a positive change in a community, it is important that necessary awareness and training is provided at an early stage. We will be initiating a training and capacity-building program for adolescent youth studying in 50 schools in XXXX Region. Our project team will conduct these training sessions in middle and senior secondary schools in the region, so as to create awareness on reproductive health aspects. The project team will meet with the school administration and develop a schedule for conducting awareness and training sessions for the children. We shall also be training 2 teachers from each school on aspects of adolescent nutrition and health so that they can continue to sensitize the students even after our project comes to an end. To make the program effective, the following sub-activities will also be conducted in the schools:
- Monthly session on health and nutrition
- Monthly session on sanitation and menstrual hygiene
- Activities for enhancing gender sensitivity among young boys
- Lectures on Reproductive health
- Distribution of sanitary pads
- Building capacities of the Rural Health Motivators: We shall conduct a training session for the RHMs to sensitize them about the ongoing project and also build their capacities through a training session. We will be initially training a cadre of 200 RHMs who are working in the XXXX Region. The RHMS will be trained specifically on maternal and child care on the following topics:
Distribution of folic acid, iron pills, zinc capsules
Qualitative Indicators
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- Increased awareness amongst community members on all aspects of maternal and child health.
- Increased access of women and children to quality healthcare and adequate services.
Improved coordination and linkages developed with the government department
Quantitative Indicators
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- Number of awareness camps held
- Number of mobile clinics that are operational
- Hours that the clinics were operational
- Number of patients that visited the clinic
- Number of patients treated
- Number of counseling sessions conducted
- Number of women health groups formed
- Number of group meetings held
- Number of RHMs trained
- % wage increase in the health of women and child health
- % age decrease in infant mortality
- % age decrease in child undernourishment
- % age in safe deliveries
- Number of schools linked for awareness and training
- Number of adolescents sensitized
- Number of anemic cases identified and counseled
- Number of meetings held with the health department.
Project Team
Director Programs- 1
Project coordinator – 1
Doctors- 10
Nurse- 10
Lab Technician -1
Counselor- 2
Finance Assistant-1
Monitoring and Evaluation
The program will be monitored through monthly and quarterly assessments conducted by the director. The field staff will be collecting necessary data and filling in the MIS on a weekly basis. The project coordinator will compile monthly reports stating the progress in terms of the meetings, awareness camps, health checkups, etc. The finance assistant will monitor the monthly expenses and will submit monthly financial reports to the program director. We will also have bi-annual reviews by the senior program team to monitor the project progress and impact. At the end of the project, we shall hire an external evaluator to assess the overall effectiveness of the project and suggest ways of improvement.
List of Required Documents
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- An attested copy of the registration of the organization
- Gender Disaggregated list of its governing body and executive staff
- Tax exemption status
- Legal registration to receive grants from foreign sources.
- Audited accounts of the previous financial year
- Latest Annual report
Budget
