PPAZ Ndola

The Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia - Ndola

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ORIENTATION OF TRADITIONAL LEADERS, DEBs, TEACHERS AND PTA UNDER THE ONE STOP SERVICE PROJECT

The Promotion of Women’s Health throughout the Life Cycle at One Stop Service Site in Zambia is a project which aims at improving the access to quality services for women’s health in the project areas. JOICFP (Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning) in collaboration with PPAZ (Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia) is implementing this project in six (6) new project sites in Masaiti and Mpongwe districts. The Project runs for three (3) years from January 2018 to January 2021 and is being implemented

The implementation of the project consists of a number of activities that include orientation of local stakeholders, notably the Local Steering Committee who are partners in navigating project implementation and success in respective local sites. Among other things, the local stakeholders help in the identification of various maternal and child health challenges as well as adolescent sexual reproductive health issues affecting the communities. Equally, the local stakeholders are expected to mandate themselves with proactive roles and responsibilities that are set as benchmarks for addressing various challenges affecting women and adolescents in the communities.

On September 6th, 2018, JOICFP and PPAZ convened an orientation meeting at Njelemani rural health center in Masaiti district. Participants of the meeting were traditional leaders, Parents Teachers Association (PTA), DEBs, and Teachers. The meeting was being facilitated by JOICFP/PPAZ and District Health Office (DHO).

The objectives of the meeting were: 1. To strengthen the network among the traditional leaders, teachers and PTA in the project sites and to promote and support ASRH activities in the community; 2. To introduce the concept of the project and share the lessons learnt from the previous project sites; 3. To introduce the concept of Minute format for Local Steering Committee; 4. To develop the roles and responsibilities of the relevant stakeholders for the project.

Participants of the meeting were reminded about the importance of collaborating with the health sector in improving maternal and child health indicators. The Masaiti district MCH coordinator said “As a health sector, we are glad that we are able to engage influential people like yourselves (traditional leaders, teachers, PTA) to assist in improving the key Maternal Newborn and Child Health indicators”, such as; facility deliveries, Postnatal attendance, Antenatal attendance, and male involvement. Participants were also reminded to be actively involved in helping to implement various project activities for the One Stop project. This could be done through inter alia; sensitizations, health education, and health advocacy. Other issues highlighted were the need to increase coverage of key Maternal Newborn and Child Health indicators and also to reduce on maternal mortality. Teachers were also reminded to encourage those school girls who fall pregnant to start attending ANC early.

Some of the identified challenges that were affecting the communities included: Faking the age; Adolescents not coming for safe deliveries at the facility and to attend antenatal for fear of being punished by the chief; Not coming for family planning for fear of being stigmatized as prostitutes; Not coming for early antenatal booking with their partners; Unsafe abortions; Parents not bringing their children with children with sexual problems for counselling; Lack of proper link between the health center staff and headmen as well as other people; Lack of knowledge on sexual reproductive services offered at the health center; Lack of infrastructures to support the girl child’s health; Lack of proper referral system for those pregnant girls who need quick specialized maternal services.

Emanating from the above challenges, participants of the meeting were then tasked to come up with their roles and responsibilities of addressing such challenges as stakeholders. Continued sensitization. The following were the roles and responsibilities that were formed by the committee: To provide technical support to the peer educators; Traditional leadership to hold regular meetings with the community; Allow teachers to continue with comprehensive sexuality education in the schools and to provide information; This committee to help collaboration between teachers and parents through e.g P.TA meetings; This committee to help collaboration between health personnel and teachers

Participants of the meeting agreed that they will be conducting quarterly meetings. The first meeting will be convened on 6th December, 2018. It was also agreed that the committee be named stakeholder’s committee.

 Joan Manda giving her presentation during the meeting

Participants paying attention to the proceedings

Mr Soko, the health staff from Njelemani RHC, giving his presentation

Mr Kapili Malias, a traditionla leader from Njelemani, giving his presentation

Participants of the meeting converse during group discussions

Mr Hijuwa victor, a teacher from Lupiya, giving his presenatation 

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90 SMAGS TRAINED FOR MPONGWE DISTRICT

Safe Motherhood Action Groups, or SMAGs, are community volunteers trained on messages and practices that lead to safer pregnancies for the women in their villages. The concept of using Safe Motherhood Action Groups (SMAGs) is emerging to be useful in referral of mothers to health facilities for antenatal care, delivery, postnatal care or in case of maternal and neonatal complication without delay. 

Launched as a national programme in 2008, SMAGs are a key part of the Zambian government’s safe motherhood policy response. Safe Motherhood Action Groups in Zambia are helping to change health-seeking behaviour in favour of improved maternal and newborn health.

JOICFP (Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning) in collaboration with PPAZ (Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia) has trained 90 SMAGS in Mpongwe District. This is under the “Protecting Lives of Pregnant Women in Africa – Zambia” project which is been implemented in four African countries and supported by Takeda Global CSR, the 15th biggest Pharmaceutical company in the world based in Japan.

In his opening remarks, Mpongwe District Health Director Dr. Peter Mulenga, reminded the participants that it’s the government’s effort to reduce maternal and neonatal mortalities. He urged the participants to work extra hard to help reduce home deliveries and sensitize the communities on maternal danger signs in order to prevent maternal and neonatal deaths. Dr. Mulenga thanked PPAZ and JOICFP for embarking on this project in the district.

90 SMAGS have so far been trained from four project sites in Mpongwe namely Mwinuna RHC, Kasamba RHC, Chisapa and Luankuni Health Posts. The other 90 SMAGS are yet to be trained for Kapiri district. A total of 180 SMAGS will be trained under the Takeda Global CSR supported project.

Dr. Peter Mulenga addressing the participants during the SMAG training.

SMAGS demonstrating maternal danger signs in a song.

30 SMAGS from Kasamba RHC posing for a group photo after the traininig

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Bags are also sewn and are used as storage for the cards for the maggie aprons

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Maggie aprons sewn by the Mukolwe team. This is a tool used to disseminate information in the community.

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SMAG members for Mukolwe and Mutaba pose for a photo with their certificates after successfully completing a theory training in tailoring and designing.

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Participants of the Monitoring and Evaluation workshop pose for a photo

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‘Protecting the Lives of Pregnant Women in Africa- Zambia’ to benefit the community of Mwinuna in Mpongwe.

Maternal mortality constitutes a major public health problem in developing countries. Although Zambia has been experiencing a decline in maternal mortality ratio (MMR) at a minimal rate, MMR still remains high, at 398 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births.

Despite much forward momentum with regard to enhancing health services, Zambia continues to face high levels of maternal mortality. The majority of maternal deaths arise from complications that are not predicted or prevented; care for these conditions must be readily available to all women. Therefore, delivery at a health facility becomes crucial for effective intervention to women during childbirth.

It is in this regard that JOCIFP and PPAZ are implementing a 5-year project termed ‘Protecting the Lives of Pregnant Women in Africa-Zambia’ which will benefit 7 facilities on the Copperbelt and Central Provinces. The project is running from January 2018 to December 2022 and is aimed at improving quality MNCH and ASRH services through capacity building and enhancing behavioural change in the project sites communities.

Mwinuna Rural Health Centre in Mpongwe is one of the health centres which is going to benefit from this project. It is located about 68 km from Mpongwe DHO. It has a catchment population of 5046 and had 33 facility deliveries in 2016 as opposed to 188 expected deliveries. The low number in facility deliveries is attributed to long distances people have to cover for them to reach the facility and lack of a mothers waiting shelter.

However, the local steering committee members have put construction of a maternity waiting house as one of their goals to help overcome the challenge of distance and consequently increase facility deliveries. The construction of the waiting house will be done through mobilising resources within the community and will be spearheaded by the local steering committee.

Speaking during the orientation meeting, Mr. Sinkala Carcious, a teacher and member of the local steering committee thanked PPAZ and JOICFP for “bringing this project to Mwinuna, a place that is hard to reach and neglected”. “This project will help reduce home deliveries and birth related complications including death”.

JOICFP and PPAZ values the role the community plays in the success of the projects and hence the need to put up a local committee in the project area which is going to help spearhead the project and strengthen community network and partnership. This will also help the community to come up with ways of sustaining the project even after the funding period is over.

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Launching the PPAZ Ndola website!