Emergency health care for displaced people in the districts of Ancuabe, Montepuez and Namuno, in Cabo Delgado
The coordination, monitoring and evaluation meetings of the activities of the humanitarian action project “Emergency health care for the population displaced by the armed conflict in Cabo Delgado” were held at the headquarters of the Ancuabe, Namuno and Montepuez districts. financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), with the participation of rights holders, the beneficiary community and technicians from the respective district health services.
Strengthening PHC
The main objective of the coordination, monitoring and evaluation meetings of the activities of the humanitarian action project “Emergency health care for the population displaced by the armed conflict in Cabo Delgado”, was to monitor and evaluate the degree of compliance of the activities, with the actors directly involved in the project, in a phase in which its completion is approaching (August 2024).
The meetings were organized by medicusmundi, in collaboration with the District Health, Women and Social Action Services (SDSMAS) of Ancuabe, Montepuez and Namuno. The meetings were attended by the directors of the three SDSMAS, the head of the Mirate post, the head of the city of Mararange, 4 health activists, 6 women from the Psychosocial Support Group, several village heads, directors of the 5 centers resettlement supported by the organization and health technicians of the reference health units.
In these meetings, the degree of compliance with some indicators and the level of satisfaction of the beneficiaries were also evaluated, and improvement strategies were also drawn up for those indicators that have not been achieved as expected.
These meetings were the first in which everyone involved in the project could come together. After the initial presentations, followed by the interventions of those present, the community leaders expressed their satisfaction for having been included in the project and for the significant changes that the project brought to their communities. Not only through direct help, but also through behavioral changes in relation to healthcare.
Also highlight the participation of the women's Psychosocial Support (APSS) groups, created within the scope of the project. Most of these women are displaced due to the armed conflict in Cabo Delgado, and come from different parts of the province. These groups meet twice a month to discuss health and other topics related to the communities in which they operate. On the other hand, they also identify cases of GBV (Gender Violence) in the community and, with the help of activists who collaborate with the organization, refer these cases to their reference health unit.
In one of the meetings, the group of women present confirmed that they received this initiative with some resistance. And only after the second or third session did they begin to realize the advantages of being part of this support network, which reinforced the importance of women's role in the community.
For the young health activists present at the meetings, this is an opportunity to make their contribution to the community to which they belong, contributing with their work to improve access to medical care for pregnant and lactating women in their community. They conduct home visits to these target groups and reinforce the message about the need for women to monitor their pregnancy at the health unit. At the same time, they explain the importance of institutional births, the importance of postpartum consultations and family planning. The activists were trained throughout the project in basic health packages, with topics of mental health and psychosocial support, GBV, SMI, nutrition, and it is based on this knowledge that they give talks in the community.
Those responsible for SDSMAS and health technicians from the reference health units present, for their part, expressed their satisfaction with the support that the organization has been providing: the rehabilitation carried out in the infrastructure of the Metoro, Mirate and Nanrapa health centers. , the delivery of medical-surgical materials, which contribute to improving the services provided to the respective communities.
Finally, it is important to highlight that in the meetings short-term strategies were outlined to improve the lowest performance indicators, in order to guarantee compliance with the goals defined by the project.
This activity was carried out within the framework of the implementation of the Humanitarian Action project 2022-ACHU-000059 “Emergency health care for the population displaced by the armed conflict in Cabo Delgado”, implemented by medicusmundi, the Provincial Health Service and the Provincial Health Directorate of Cabo Delgado, and financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
Strategies
