Reducing Maternal and Newborn Deaths in Kenya. 2019-2023

5 Counties of Garissa, Kilifi, Taita Taveta, Vihiga and Uasin Gishu

Reducing Maternal and Newborn Deaths in Kenya

Project 20 Jan 2022
177

The Reducing Maternal and New-born Deaths in Kenya programme is a four-year programme (2019-2023) funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The programme aims to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in Kenya by providing support to  develop, monitor and sustain successful strategies to improve the quality of maternal and new-born health and healthcare services.

Following successes of previously DFID-funded maternal and new-born health (MNH) programmes, the programme contributes to increased and sustainable availability of quality MNH services by promoting and supporting the institutionalisation and effective stewardship of strategies and interventions to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity and to reduce stillbirths in Kenya at national level, as well as directly at county levels. This is done through providing support to: improve health worker knowledge and skills and sustainable systems for training and mentoring, increase the capacity of counties and facilities to monitor and use data to improve MNH quality of care and increase county capacity to plan, budget for and manage MNH services.

Building on the Making it Happen programme (MiH)- that was implemented in Kenya between 2009 and 2018, this programme contributes to increased and sustainable availability of quality MNH services. This is done through providing support to: improve health worker knowledge and skills and sustainable systems for training and mentoring, increase the capacity of counties and facilities to monitor and use data to improve MNH quality of care and increase county capacity to plan, budget for and manage MNH services.

Programme Objectives

The programme’s approach is conceived and constructed along five key result areas:

Support the implementation of methods to improve Quality of Maternal and Newborn Care Activities under this result area are implemented at both national and county levels. These include sustaining the annual Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths (CEMD) reporting process and strengthening Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) at national level and in the focal counties. In addition, this result area focusses on monitoring the implementation of recommendations of the first Kenya CEMD report and documenting related results.

Strengthen capacity of the workforce through in-service EmOC&NC training interventions. Activities under this result area focus on strengthening the capacity of county governments to coordinate, deliver and quality assure in-service training in EmOC&NC and other ‘skills and drills’-based trainings. These activities directly respond to recommendations from the first Kenya CEMD related to improving the knowledge and skills of maternity care providers in the country.

Strengthen capacity of pre-service training institutions: Activities under this result area include facilitating the integration of competency-based training approaches and content in pre-service training curricula and strengthening faculty capacity to implement the updated curriculum..

Mentorship: This involves support the national Ministry of Health to develop a National EmONC mentorship package and support the counties to implement it.

Disseminate findings and lessons learned: At both national level and county level, the focus of this result area is include; regular monitoring of programme activities, outputs and programme results, with a focus on strengthening the capacity of central Ministry of Health (MoH) and counties to adopt and manage the principles and tools and facilitate knowledge sharing.

Partners

In Kenya, the Reducing Maternal and New-born Deaths in Kenya programme is implemented by LSTM Kenya in partnership with the LSTM EmOC Team in UK. This is a collaboration between LSTM, the Ministry of Health, Kenya and the 3 County Governments of Vihiga, Garissa and Uasin Gishu.