CARE Zambia Project Profile: Moyo Wa Bana Capacity Building Initiative (MWB CBI)

According to the most recent Demographic Health Survey released in March 2009, the under-five mortality rate in Zambia is 119 out of 1,000 live births, and 139/1,000 in rural areas, nearly double the country target of 63 per 1000 live births by the year 2015, as set by the Millennium Development Goals. The major causes of child mortality, such as pneumonia, diarrhea and malnutrition, are all preventable diseases.

With the support of the Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Moyo Wa Bana Capacity Building Initiative (MWB CBI) was initially a four year project (20072011 and extended by two years 2011-2013) aims to enhance the health and well-being of Zambian children. Modeled on the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) approach, MWB builds on a previous CIDA/CARE collaboration on child health. The projects objective is to work with partners at all levels of the Ministry of Health and build their capacity to deliver gender-sensitive, holistic health systems and community IMCI services.

Through nine districts within Central, Luapula and Northern Provinces, CAREs role is to provide technical and material support to initiatives that develop Child Health Unit, Provincial Health Office and District Health Offices ability to lead and coordinate child health efforts such as developing and managing IMCI training for health workers, and mentoring and monitoring their performance. CAREs MWB staff have been located within MoH structures at District and Provincial Health Offices in order to support all IMCI/child health planned activities and during the current extension phase. The program also relies on a network of trained volunteer Community Health Promoters, who identify children at risk within their respective communities, make referrals to local clinics, perform follow-ups, assist in data capture and help deliver basic child health services to reduce the burden of local health providers.

To date, MOH partners are now using more effective tools to capture, store and track data, and have demonstrated improved evidence-based planning and budgeting, responsiveness to community needs, support to volunteer Community Health Promoters and a greater ability to advocate and organize child health activities. The project has also trained pools of health workers in IMCI at Provincial, District and Health Centre levels, established IMCI training core teams in three program-operated provinces, trained and established pools of IMCI supervisors in all planned provinces, districts and health centers and trained pools of community volunteers in Community-IMCI to serve at the local level. By project end in May 2011, Moyo Wa Bana expects to see improvements in child survival rates and

improved an improved ability of the Ministry of health to manage plan and implement child health projects. For more information, please contact us at info@carezam.org

CARE Zambia Project Profile: Moyo Wa Bana Capacity Building Initiative (MWB CBI)

Name of project: Location: Project Number : Executing Agency: Partners in Zambia: Total Budget: Components:

Moyo Wa Bana Capacity Building Initiative Project Luapula, Northern and Central Provinces PO 7045951/A-033139-001-PR1 CARE Canada/Zambia MOH-DTSS, MCDMCH-CHU, Local Communities in the 9 Districts of the Project CAD $ 12,320,000 CARE and local partners= CAD $ 1,546,000.00 Work Package 1000:Focused on improving institutional performance of the Child Health Unit of the MoH & the Directorates of selected provincial & district health offices to manage all aspects (planning, budgeting, resource mobilization, monitoring) of the implementation of gender sensitive health system IMCI Project that mainstream HIV/AIDS Work Package 2000: Focused on improved institutional performance of the Child Health Unit of the MoH & the Directorates of selected provincial & district health offices , to plan & deliver sustainable, gender sensitive IMCI capacity development & supervision to primary health care workers Work Package 3000: Focused on enhancing institutional performance of selected district Directorates & clinics to plan & support gender sensitive community based IMCI activities & Projects that promote child health for under 5 year girls/boys Gender, Environment, HIV/AIDS

Cross-cutting issues:

Total Direct Beneficiaries Targeted: 402,928 boys, girls and children in 11 Districts in 3 Provinces

For more information, please contact us at info@carezam.org