The goal of the Health Services and Systems Program (HSSP) in Zambia is to improve the health status of Zambians by expanding access to and improving the quality of maternal, child, reproductive, and HIV/AIDS health services, simultaneously strengthening the underlying health system. With a focus on scaling up, sustainability, and institutionalization, HSSP supports the Ministry of Health (MOH) in the following key focus areas:
HIV/AIDS Coordination, Human Resources, and Health Systems — health services planning, management information systems, training and performance improvement, HIV/AIDS coordination, and SWAp management
Child Health and Nutrition — Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI), Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), nutrition, and micronutrient supplementation
Reproductive Health — family planning and Safe Motherhood initiatives focusing on managing complications through emergency obstetric and postabortion care
Malaria — indoor residual spraying, and prevention and case management efforts for children and pregnant women.
Project accomplishments include:
HIV/AIDS Coordination, Human Resources, and Health Systems — HSSP helped the MOH review and provide feedback on 72 district health action plans and ensured that 28 percent of districts had one facility offering a minimum package of HIV/AIDS services. This work included analyzing human resource and training needs, introducing a Health Workers Retention Scheme, implementing an antiretroviral therapy information system (ARTIS) in 76 percent of the facilities nationwide, and developing a mechanism to accredit ART providers in the private sector. Clinical care specialists (seconded to all Provincial Health Offices) offer technical support supervision to health workers to improve quality, with special emphasis on HIV/AIDS services.
Child Health and Nutrition — HSSP helped the MOH finalize a Child Health Policy and scale up IMCI activities, training 151 health workers, 886 community health workers, and 190 community trainers. HSSP helped train 1,500 health workers in the introduction of new vaccines, increasing vaccination coverage in 36 districts and helping Zambia receive an additional $3.6 million because they had successfully exceeded target immunizations.
Reproductive Health — HSSP is helping strengthen emergency obstetric care, post-abortion care, antenatal care, and family planning services in target districts through establishing and equipping training sites, training of trainers and providers, and developing practice guidelines.
Malaria — HSSP provides technical assistance, as well as logistical and financial support, to implement an indoor residual spraying program that covers 512,000 households and protects 2.5 million people in 15 districts, nearing WHO's recommended target coverage of 85 percent. The project trains supervisors and sprayers and supports storage, logistics, distribution, and environmental protection activities.
Related Web Sites
Health Services and Systems Program — Zambia HSSP is a USAID funded health project in Zambia whose mandate is to support the Ministry of Health (MoH) in improving the quality of and access to key health services through the provision of technical assistance.
