Delivering High Quality Maternal and Child Health in Mali
Highlights
- Mali is challenged to provide quality care for rural residents.
- Assistance Technique Nationale Plus focused on integrated maternal and childcare.
- Results included malaria case-management training and increased immunization rates.
The Challenge
Adaptability, diligence, and innovative thinking are necessary for any large-scale integrated health project to produce results. This is especially true in a country such as Mali, with high levels of poverty and limited resources.
The Approach
Abt Global and partners supported a comprehensive effort to expand high-quality maternal and child health services to rural Malians. Assistance Technique Nationale (ATN) Plus was a five-year project funded by USAID. The project promoted the use of services and changes in health behaviors, such as hand washing and breastfeeding, and seeking proper antenatal and malaria care and immunizations.
The Results
Key ATN Plus accomplishments included:
- Training materials for malaria case management, including focused antenatal care, provided to more than 2,500 health providers
- Technical support to train almost 1,700 qualified providers and auxiliary midwives, or matrones, in active management of the third stage of labor, and more than 250 family planning providers in long-term family planning methods and supervision
- Technical assistance to develop low-cost immunization recruitment strategies, resulting in a 73 percent vaccination rate for targeted children in pilot areas
Regions
Sub-Saharan Africa