Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI)

Programs

Essential Obstetrics and Neonatal Care

last updated Apr 1, 2013

Overview

Implementing organization: 
Friends of Londiani
Implementation Partner(s): 
Friends of Londiani, Kenya
Legal Status: 
Private (not-for-profit)
Year Launched: 
2007
Stage: 
Existing/expansion stage
Income Level of Target Population: 
Bottom 20%

Funding

Primary Source of Funding: 
Donor
Funders: 
Friends of Londiani

Scale

Personnel Employed: 
10-49
Summary: 

The project seeks to address the problem of high maternal mortality due to poverty compounded by HIV/AIDS and malaria that results in many women and their children dying prematurely

Program goals/rationale: 

The reduction of Maternal Mortality continues to be a worldwide priority in the alleviation of poverty. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to struggle with a very high maternal death rate – in some areas it still approximates a life-time risk for women of 1 in 16, confounded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, poor water and sanitation, indifference to malaria control and lack of education opportunities for the girl child.

Friends Of Londiani-FOL, adopted the RCOG/WHO Essential Obstetric Care – Life Saving Skills program as its education syllabus for healthcare professionals for Maternal and Child Health in 2007 – it runs as an academic and skills-based 3-day course with a major focus on “training the trainers”, reflecting methodology used by advanced life support groups in Ireland, the UK and the USA.

Key program components: 

FOL has developed a peer-education life-skills training program for use at community level over the past 6 years.

Modules include family planning, maternal health and HIV/STI prevention. It dovetails well with the essential obstetric care program – a change in birth behavior is required in communities with the highest maternal mortality so that women may be supported by their family to seek skilled birth attendants for delivery.

A combination of the two programs is used with women identified locally as traditional birth attendants (TBA) or community health workers to improve the community response to perinatal emergencies.

Program history: 

Friends of Londiani was founded in 2002 by a group of Irish volunteers who worked in partnership with the people of Londiani on community development projects. A Board of Directors was established in 2005 and the group was officially registered as an Irish Charity. FOL is recognised by the Revenue Commissioners as having registered charity status and the charity number is CHY16505. Friends of Londiani is a Limited Company registered with the Companies Office since February 2005 and the registered company number is 398094.

Friends of Londiani Ireland works in partnership with Friends of Londiani Kenya, a registered Non-Governmental Organisation in Kenya.

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