Grant will improve reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health
BOSTON — JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) will use a $14.7 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help the Government of Ethiopia achieve sustainable improvements in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health in Ethiopia. The Last Ten Kilometers (L10K): What it Takes to Improve Health Outcomes in Rural Ethiopia Program is designed to help address the severe shortage of human resources for health in Ethiopia. It will reach out to families and communities to introduce simple strategies for better health. L10K will help selected Ethiopian organizations develop technical, managerial, and financial capacity to assist this process.
“This new grant will enable JSI to extend and deepen the in-roads it has already made in the country–and help improve the health of more than 15 million women and children in Ethiopia,” commented Joel Lamstein, JSI President. “We are grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for giving JSI this opportunity to further our 12 years of work in-country and build the capacity of local partners to engage more fully in the health care system.”
Over the next five years, JSI will work closely with the Ministry of Health to address this dire situation by working directly with Ethiopian organizations at national, regional, district and community levels to strengthen skills and make reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health services in Ethiopia sustainable.
L10K is a technical assistance and grants program designed to contribute to the current efforts of the government and multiple donors to accelerate the number and spread of the community health worker program. The program trains volunteers to become “model families” who implement simple, achievable health changes in their own homes before moving on to help their neighbors and community as a whole take on these positive health behaviors. L10K focuses on the bridge between households and health extension workers–the formal health system in their community. L10K will test models that aim to change community norms so that households more fully engage to take charge of the health of their families in a sustainable way.
Ethiopia is the second most populous nation in sub-Saharan Africa, with high levels of maternal, newborn and child mortality. Approximately 20% of Ethiopian children die before their fifth birthday, with more than 70% of these deaths linked to preventable or easily treatable childhood illnesses. Low coverage of proven, inexpensive interventions is largely responsible for Ethiopia being ranked 6th globally and 2nd in Africa for total number of maternal and child deaths. Like many sub-Saharan Africa countries, Ethiopia suffers from low economic growth, high population pressures and a severe human resource shortage in all social sectors, including health. The per capita health expenditure from all sources is only $7.60, far lower than the minimum amount ($34) needed to meet primary health care needs in a developing country.
A portion of grant monies will explore the use of non-financial and financial incentives to motivate and sustain volunteer community health workers and health extension workers. Incentives for these workers might include community recognition ceremonies, volunteer t-shirts, and community festivals, as well as access to credit through micro-finance schemes.
“By empowering families and communities, the L10K program will help people in the poorest regions of Ethiopia live healthier lives,” said Dr. Jaime Sepulveda, Director of Integrated Health Solutions Development at the Gates Foundation. “By introducing simple and sustainable health interventions, initiatives such as L10K can play a critical role in improving global health.”
JSI has been deeply invested in Ethiopia since it first began working there in 1986 and is committed to improving the health status of the Ethiopian people. JSI implements several other programs, funded by the US Agency for International Development, which are improving key aspects of the health system, including health logistics, ensuring that medical injections are given safely, and working to reduce famine vulnerability, poor health outcomes and poverty by strengthening human capacity and social resiliency through the Ethiopia Essential Services for Health (ESHE) Project. The Last Ten Kilometers (L10K): What it Takes to Improve Health Outcomes in Rural Ethiopia project will expanding those efforts and contribute to sustaining the work.
Read about JSI’s project work in Ethiopia: www.jsi.com/JSIInternet/Projects/ListProjects.cfm?Select=Country&ID=108
JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., is a nonprofit, public health research and consulting organization committed to improving primary health care services to poor and underserved populations. JSI works to promote health and wellness, prevent disease, expand access to care and treatment, and improve health service delivery.