The Making it Happen Programme (MiH) aimed to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity by increasing availability and improving the quality of Skilled Birth Attendance (SBA) and Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC).
Between 2012 and 2016, the MiH programme was delivered in 11 countries: eight in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Republic of South Africa, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zimbabwe) and three in Asia (Bangladesh, India and Pakistan). Periodic health care facility surveys to assess the availability, utilization and quality of Emergency Obstetric Care were undertaken. This included assessment of availability of life saving emergency obstetric medicines and equipment.
By the end of the program, key achievements included:
- 18,598 healthcare providers trained in EmONC with 83.7% of healthcare providers demonstrating improved knowledge and 99.2% improved skills.
- 1,487 healthcare providers trained to better collect and use data
- 665 healthcare providers completed the Quality Improvement workshops and worked together to improve maternal and perinatal death audit (review) at their healthcare facility and to introduce standards-based audit.
Increased accountability for results and quality of care (Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and Malawi)
- 84 healthcare facilities were followed up quarterly (42 designated to provide Comprehensive EmOC and 42 Basic EmOC)
- 1,487 healthcare providers trained to better collect and use data
- 665 healthcare providers completed the Quality Improvement workshops and worked together to improve maternal and perinatal death audit (review) at their healthcare facility and to introduce standards-based audit.
- 100% of health care facilities had conducted maternal death audit and perinatal audit and standards-based audit in last 6 months; 81% of healthcare facilities reviewed 80% or more of maternal deaths by 6 months and all participating health care facilities had evidence of action taken because of undertaking audit
The programme was focused on services for women and girls and, by increasing access to safe delivery, will have transformed the lives of many.
Across 963 healthcare facilities in the MiH implementation countries, during the life-time of the programme:
- 273,510 more women attended for delivery at a healthcare facility and 16,946 more women were recognised to need and received emergency obstetric care.
- An estimated 6,763 stillbirths were avoided, 1,452 mothers’ lives saved and 4,946 newborn lives were saved i.e. 13,161 lives saved in total.
Programme reports Submitted to DFID can befounde here.