Healthy Mothers and Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo

This project aims to reduce mother and child mortality rates in 15 areas of the Tshopo and Ituri provincial health divisions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Eastern Province. Health divisions have poorly trained workers little capacity to plan and high rates of mothers and child mortality. Through this project the delivery of adapted health services to mothers and children (age 0-5) aims to be improved by increasing the professional skills of health workers. Furthermore supporting the local financial capacity should improve health services planning and access to quality data. To increase use of these health services education campaigns are to be launched to teach about reducing maternity risks family planning sexually transmitted diseases as well as early pregnancy. Project activities include: (1) training health care providers; (2) strengthening executives’ management skills; (3) building five maternity wards and 15 maternity rehabilitation wards; (4) providing equipment and medicines; (5) launching awareness campaigns for the prevention of mother-child HIV/AIDS transmission;( 6) assisting 3 500 seropositive women and newborns; (7) launching an early pregnancy prevention campaign; and (8) organising knowledge sharing and networking events for the general Canadian public in order to stimulate their commitment to support MNCH initiatives in developing countries. Direct beneficiaries are: 300 000 pregnant women 90 000 spouses (men) 43 000 youth (age 15-24) as well as 455 000 newborns and children under five of which 52% are girls. These beneficiaries will be better informed and/or will use the improved health services. More than 700 health care providers (nurses doctors specialists) and 355 health care managers and executives will have stronger professional skills. Oxfam-Québec is implementing this project in collaboration with the following local partners: : Anti-Bwaki Mothers’ Association Ituri Provincial Health Division and Tshopo Provinc

The expected outcomes for this project include: 1) improved access and delivery of health care services for mothers and children under five; 2) increased use of health services by local populations especially women youth and children under five; and 3) increased engagement of the Canadian public concerning the health of women and children in developing countries.