1 research outputs found
Improving maternal and child healthcare programme using community-participatory interventions in Ebonyi State Nigeria
In Nigeria, the government is implementing the Free Maternal and Child Health Care Programme (FMCHCP).
The policy is premised on the notion that financial barriers are one of the most important constraints to equitable
access and use of skilled maternal and child healthcare. In Ebonyi State, Southeastern Nigeria the FMCHCP is
experiencing implementation challenges including: inadequate human resource for health, inadequate funding,
out of stock syndrome, inadequate infrastructure, and poor staff remuneration. Furthermore, there is less
emphasis on community involvement in the programme implementation. In this policy brief, we recommend
policy options that emphasize the implementation of community-based participatory interventions to strengthen
the government’s FMCHCP as follows: Option 1: Training community women on prenatal care, life-saving skills
in case of emergency, reproductive health, care of the newborn and family planning. Option 2: Sensitizing the
community women towards behavioural change, to understand what quality services that respond to their needs are
but also to seek and demand for such. Option 3: Implementation packages that provide technical skills to women
of childbearing age as well as mothers’ groups, and traditional birth attendants for better home-based maternal
and child healthcare. The effectiveness of this approach has been demonstrated in a number of community-based
participatory interventions, building on the idea that if community members take part in decision-making and
bring local knowledge, experiences and problems to the fore, they are more likely to own and sustain solutions to
improve their communities’ healt