Christian Children’s Fund of Canada launches project to address maternal and child mortality in the north
CCFC ON MATERNAL HEALTH CARE
A project dubbed ‘’Promoting Maternal, Newborn, Infant and Child Sustainable Health Efforts’’ (CCFC-PROMISE ) was launched in Tamale on Thursday by the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC) to address the issue of maternal mortality, newborn and child health in the northern region.
CCFC–PROMISE is a four- year project which would start in April 2016 and last through March 2020. It will be supplementing the Canadian Government’s effort on the Muskoka Initiative on Maternal and child health and to Ghana’s Sustainable development Goals (SDGs) through partnership for strengthening Maternal, Newborn and child health with financial support of Global Affairs Canada.
The CCFC–PROMISE project is being implemented in three districts; Savelgu, Saboba and Nanumba North in the northern region of Ghana through two local partners namely Tuma Kavi Development Association and the Assemblies of God Relief and development services ( AGREDS) together with their district health directorates and district assemblies.
The project’s primary goal is to reduce maternal and child mortality in the northern region by improving delivery of essential health services to mothers, pregnant women, newborns, and children under five years, improving utilization of essential health services by mothers, pregnant women, newborns and children under five years and increasing consumption of nutritious foods and supplements by mothers, pregnant women, newborns, and children under five years.
Additionally, the project will apply an integrated approach to MNCH –implementing both demand and supply side interventions to ensure reduction in maternal and child mortality. Its key strategies are the strengthening of the health system to improve the quality of care coupled with the improvement of district and community level structures through capacity building and behavior change communication. The project will therefore directly and indirectly impact the lives of over 100,000 beneficiaries, including children, women and men.
It will also improve health service delivery in nine health facilities in the three project districts and strive to find innovative approaches to delivering an integrated health intervention for greater impact and sustainability.
The program was attended by representatives of CCFC’s partners – UNICEF, UNFPA and PLAN Ghana, chiefs and elders of communities, stakeholders as well as health officials. George Baiden is the country director of CCFC.
The Canadian High Commissioner, Her Excellency Heather Cameron whose message was delivered on her behalf noted that the government of Canada is proud of its partnership with CCFC to promote the efforts that the government and the people of Ghana are making to address maternal and child health in Ghana. Canada, she stated, has taken a global leadership role in maternal, newborn and child health over the past few years.
‘’Canada assistance to Ghana including through the project launched is part of Canada’s total global commitment of $3.5 billion to reduce maternal and child mortality by 2020’’, she added. Inequalities, across and within regions, the Commissioner mentioned, represent a major barrier to sustainable and inclusive development.
Despite efforts to address gender inequality, women of all social strata continue to face significant social and economic barriers to the attainment of their full rights. This also limits their ability to demonstrate leadership and effectively contribute to the development of their communities, she noted.
She therefore emphasized the need to keep in mind the remaining challenges including high poverty levels in many part of the country, including northern Ghana where 25 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.