Follow the SUN - Universal Health: active communities for access to primary health care in rural areas
Mozambique
Status
ImplementationAid type
Project-type interventionsMozambique
Location
-
€ 1,455,668
Committed
Committed
€ 873,401
Used
Used
Description
The 36-month project Follow the SUN - UNiversal Health promotes universal access to health services through a decentralised health promotion programme that aims to help increase access to primary health care services for the most vulnerable communities in the rural areas of Morrumbene, Funhalouro, Massinga and Panda Districts in Inhambane Province, and Caia, Marromeu and Cheringoma in Sofala Province. The rural context of intervention is mainly characterised by persistent difficulty in accessing maternal and child health services (antenatal visits, assisted birth, prevention of Mother-to-child HIV transmission, post-partum service coverage, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases). The socio-health problems of the vast geographical area of reference, in particular infant mortality and malnutrition (more than two-thirds of Mozambican children between 6 months and 5 years of age suffer from selective nutritional deficiencies and almost half grow up with deficits resulting from chronic malnutrition), are exacerbated by recent natural disasters (cyclones) and the continuing emergency linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. MISAU (Mozambique Ministry of Health) promotes the Brigadas Móveis programme, multidisciplinary mobile health teams, as one of the few tools to decentralise basic health services and reach the most disadvantaged and remote populations. However, this tool is applied in a discontinuous and uneven manner in the districts of Sofala and Inhambane Provinces. The project envisages action on a dual institutional and community level to foster local ownership by strengthening the human resources in the health and community sectors present in the area, to increase access to primary, promotional and preventive services. On one hand, it is proposed to strengthen and extend the methodology of the Brigadas Móveis already envisaged by the health system, in synergy with district and provincial authorities. With an horizontal approach that promotes the implementation of Brigadas Moveis Integradas (BMIs) in the selected districts, the need to provide primary services to the entire population will be met: services linked to the main national basic health programmes, other than HIV testing null, diagnosis and treatment of common diseases (malaria, diarrhea, respiratory infections) will be made accessible to all, including through formal training and on-the-job training of health workers on these programmes, and the possibility of benefiting from social-health education sessions. On the other hand, the project wants to promote and strengthen the role of the community health workers - Agentes Comunitarios de Saude ACS - active in health promotion and prevention of communicable diseases. The ACS, formally recognised by the authorities, play a linking role between the communities and the local health service, which is essential to bring about a change in behaviour within society, with a horizontal intervention approach. The proposed actions aim to strengthen the ACS and activate them in the target areas, to complement the work carried out by the public service and thus guarantee continuous and universally accessible health coverage, prevention and health promotion, through continuous training and on-site coaching and support of health personnel involved in BMIs. To complement these interventions, carried out on a monthly or quarterly basis, the ACS will carry out promotion and prevention activities in rural communities with theatrical awareness campaigns, cooking demonstrations and interventions on local community radios, and will carry out active surveillance ensuring primary care to the most vulnerable population with activities of home-care visits to the seriously ill, recovery of care for patients who have abandoned the HIV antiretroviral therapy and transport to health centres for the most serious cases.
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| Year | Committed | Used |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | € 1,455,668 | € 873,401 |
Agency
| Type | Name | Channel code |
|---|---|---|
| Government | AICS - Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development | 11000 |
Channel reported
| Type | Name | Channel code |
|---|---|---|
| National NGO | MEDICUS MUNDI ITALIA ONG/ON | 22000 |
Project data
Sectors
Policy markers
SDGs
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