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Return to Global Outreach
Current Projects:
The primary goal of the project is to improve health
outcomes and contribute to the achievement of major global efforts, especially
Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths, AIDS-free Generation, and
FP2020. The private sector is integral
to the health system and an important provider of priority health care
services. To improve health outcomes and
meet these global commitments, SHOPS Plus will strategically engage the private
sector. The project will capitalize on
the unique capabilities of each of its partners to tackle pressing health
issues with a flexible and comprehensive approach.
SHOPS Plus is
implemented by Abt Associates in collaboration with the American College of
Nurse-Midwives, Avenir Health, Broad Branch Associates, Banyan Global, Iris
Group, Marie Stopes International, Population Services International, William
Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan, and two African-based
organizations, Insight Health Advisors and Praekelt Foundation.
Systems for Better Health
(awarded 2015)USAID has awarded
Abt Associates the Systems for Better
Health Program in Zambia (SBH), a five-year project to increase the
quality, availability, and use of priority health services in Zambia.
SBH, valued at $54 million, will build on Abt Associates’ 17 years of
successful health systems strengthening work in Zambia, and is a direct
follow-on project to the Zambia Integrated Systems Strengthening Program
(ZISSP), which ended in December 2014. ACNM also was a partner in ZISSP
and is looking forward to further supporting the groundwork laid during the
earlier project.
In keeping with the
Zambia’s National Health Strategic Plan and the US Government’s Country
Development Cooperation Strategy, Abt will support Zambia’s Ministry of Health
to provide equitable access to cost effective, high quality family planning,
HIV and AIDS, maternal, newborn and child health, and nutrition services. The
SBH project goal of improving health outcomes for Zambians will be achieved by
strengthening the systems underpinning the delivery of high quality health
services and increasing the utilization of these services at district and
community levels.
SBH will be
implemented in partnership with Save the Children, the American College of
Nurse-Midwives, Akros Inc., Imperial Health Sciences, Initiatives, Inc. and the
BroadReach Institute for Training and Education.
ACNM is directly involved with strengthening
pre-service educational institutions for midwifery and Community Health Assistants
with a focus on their simulation/skills laboratories and clinical practice
systems.
Every Preemie—SCALE (awarded 2014)Every Preemie—SCALE (Scaling, Catalyzing, Advocating, Learning, Evidence-Driven)
is a five-year $9 million United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) Cooperative Agreement designed to provide practical, catalytic, and
scalable approaches for expanding uptake of preterm birth (PTB) and low birth
weight (LBW) interventions in 24 USAID priority countries in Africa and Asia. Every Preemie—SCALE is working with partners
to identify and overcome bottlenecks to implementation and significantly
increase coverage of PTB and LBW evidence-based interventions in order to
increase newborn survival. The program is being implemented by a consortium
comprised of Project Concern International (PCI), the Global Alliance to
Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS), and the American College of
Nurse-Midwives (ACNM). PCI leads community capacity building and mobilization
activities, GAPPS leads evidence and knowledge sharing, program learning, and
implementation research activities, while ACNM
leads health provider capacity building
and performance improvement activities. Health Service Delivery Activity—Jordan
(awarded 2016)To help the Jordan address the influx of more than 1.3
million refugees which has threatened to overwhelm and weaken the nation’s
previously robust health system, USAID’s new five-year, $51.7 million Health
Service Delivery Activity (HSDA) is designed to expand the capacity of the
health system by increasing its efficiency and effectiveness, enabling it to
cope with the estimated 25% increase in the population. Simultaneously, the
activity will protect and build on previous gains in maternal and child health
by targeting both the public and private sectors to enhance the quality and
responsiveness of health services. Through innovative and scalable
interventions, the Health Service Delivery Activity will improve access to
quality services through expanding health networks; promoting the integration
of key reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health interventions; and
fostering community ownership to increase health facility accountability. These
efforts will focus on heavily populated, urban, and poor areas to meet the
health needs of vulnerable Jordanian host communities and refugees outside
camps.
USAID envisions that over the life of the activity, these
investments will enable the Jordanian health system to deliver the right care
at the right time for the right client, with measurable improvements in
contraceptive prevalence rates, maternal and newborn mortality, women and
children’s nutrition and access to facilities providing integrated health
services.
Abt Associates Inc.
is the prime implementer for USAID’s Health Service Delivery Activity and is
supported by the Health Care Accreditation Council, Eastern Mediterranean
Public Health Network, American College of Nurse-Midwives, and Population
Council. In addition to these sub-partners, Abt is proud to collaborate
with Jordan's public health authorities, including the Ministry of Health,
Royal Medical Services, and Higher Population Council.
Survive and Thrive Global Development
Alliance (awarded 2012)ACNM is in year three of its engagement as a professional
partner in the Survive and Thrive GDA.
With ACOG and the American Academy of pediatrics (AAP), ACNM is engaged
in a variety of initiatives related to maternal and newborn health and strengthening
professional associations.
Activities for 2017 have included:
- The Professional Association Strengthening Manual is a series of
modules that will assist health professional association to become stronger,
better governed and more effective. The
modules were developed as a simple, easy-to-understand series for use with or
without a consultant. Unlike materials
used in a training, with these modules the goal is for associations to
self-diagnose their developmental level and move forward with use of selected
materials that meet their unique needs. These modules were launched at the
recent Women Deliver conference in
Copenhagen.
- Myanmar Nurses and Midwives Association
(MNMA). The country office of USAID requested that ACNM provide support to
MNMA in professional association strengthening and in promoting MNMA’s capacity
to participate in collaborative clinical initiatives. ACNM will be using the manual developed under
the GDA to support association strengthening efforts. In conjunction with the Maternal Child
Survival Program (MCSP)/Jhpiego, ACNM will be working with MNMA to develop
clinical skills that take place within the national skills lab which Jhpiego
has supported. These trainings are
planned to be interdisciplinary with the Ob/Gyn society of the Myanmar Medical
Association.
Recent Projects:- Midwifery education in Tanzania. ACNM is
collaborating with MCSP/Tanzania to strengthen pre-service education of
midwives. We were first asked to conduct
a thorough assessment of the new midwifery curriculum. Based upon that assessment, the partners
prioritized the strengthening of the skills labs at the schools in order to
build capacity among faculty and to facilitate the integration of simulation
with the curriculum.
- Strengthening Midwifery Education in
Comprehensive Family Planning. In June 2011, ACNM was awarded a multi-million
dollar grant by a private foundation to scale up their pre-service education
program in comprehensive family planning to 2 more midwifery schools after the
successful pilot at the Kumasi Nurses and Midwifery Training College in Kumasi,
Ghana from 2009-2011. The project focuses on strengthening 4 core areas: 1)
program standards and regulation 2)curricula development and teaching
methodologies 3) clinical and teaching skills of teachers (tutors) and preceptors
4) infrastructure, equipment and supplies. An exciting part of this project is
the development of an electronic Learning Package in Comprehensive Family
Planning being undertake in collaboration with the Center for International
Medicine at University of California Los Angeles to be piloted at Kumasi Nurses
and Midwifery Training College in 2012. Theproject addresses the core
areas in three learning environments: 1) didactic learning in the
classroom 2) skills practice area on models and 3) hands-on clinical
practice with patients. It is expected that activities undertaken to strengthen
these areas will also improve professional satisfaction and thus improve
recruitment and retainment of both teachers and preceptors.
- Zambia Integrated Systems Strengthening Program (ZISSP). ZISSPis a USAID program led by
Abt Associates that builds on the successes of the previous USAID
funded Zambia Health Services and Systems Program (HSSP).ZISSP is
designed to increase utilization of high-impact public health
interventions in HIV/AIDS, malaria, family planning, maternal, newborn and
child health and nutrition at district and community levels, through a health
systems strengthening approach. ACNM is contracted to provide technical
support and direction to the maternal health components of ZISSP's projects.
Key areas include: supporting the national emergency obstetric and neonatal
care (EmONC) training system; development of a post natal home visiting program;
pre-service strengthening within the new direct entry midwifery programs; and
strengthening community preparation and response to EmONC via Home Based Life Saving Skills (HBLSS).
- Human Resources for Maternal Survival: Facilitating a Community of
Practice for Non-Physician Clinicians (NPCs). The Averting Maternal Death and Disability
(AMDD) program at Columbia University contracts with ACNM in the
development of a community of practice (CoP) among non-physician
clinicians in 6 African countries where their scope and training includes
emergency obstetric care. ACNM is the acting secretariat for this CoP.
As formative reseach for the CoP and in anticipation of scale up
across the region, ACNM designed and implemented a survey
regarding training, practice, and regulatory standards in each
participating country. Although non-physician clinicians exist in many
countries,this cadre of health care workers is just beginning to
develop their professional identity. ACNM draws on its
extensive experience developing core competencies, regulatory frameworks,
and a professional identity for midwives to assist non-physician clinicians
with this process.
- Developing a
National Training Program for Life-Saving Skills in Namibia. The Namibian Government is committed to ensure
quality maternal and child health. In their last DHS of 2006/2007, progress was
found to be hampered by a number of challenges. There is a slight upward trend
in infant mortality. The maternal mortality ratio also increased and major
causes identified were related to emergency obstetric care services. However,
increased numbers of births (81%) were found to occur in facilities by skilled
birth attendants. In moving forward the government identified interventions to
improve these services, in 2010 Namibia's Ministry of Health and Social
Services and some of their donor partners (WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF and the CDC)
requested ACNM provide assistance in designing and establishing a
national Life Saving
Skills program (LSS)training program. This program provides
updates in emergency obstetric care knowledge, skills, and attitudes for health
care providers such as midwives, doctors and nurses. As with other LSS
programs, a systems approach has been used so critical elements including
assessment, up-grading of training facilities, curriculum adaptation,
preparation of trainers and target participants and monitoring and evaluation
are addressed. ACNM's technical assistance to this program is ongoing.
- Partnership for
Transforming Health Systems (PATHS2) in Nigeria. PATHS2is a project funded by the UK
Department for International Development (DFID) and led by Abt Associates for
whom ACNM is subcontracted to implement their signature Life Saving Skills program (LSS).
PATHS2 is assisting the Nigerian government to improve the access of
impoverished communities to quality health care particularly at the community
level. One component of PATHS2's health system strengthening is
in-service training for Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) in essential
obstetric skills. ACNM is designing and implementing the Master's
training and CHEW training program in essential obstetric care through ACNM's
competency-based Life Saving Skills training program. ACNM is also
working closely with PATHS2 to design and implement a supportive supervision
system for the Master Trainers who will train all senior level CHEWs in 5
different states of Nigeria.
- ACNM/CORE Group Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Initiative. CORE Group is a network of more than 50 member
organizations working in community health. One of its functions is to “develop
and diffuse innovative cross-cutting community health program strategies, tools
and best practices in order to overcome barriers to program coverage, quality,
equity, and sustainability.” This network includes many of the organizations
who have implemented ACNM’s pioneering community maternal and neonatal health
program,Home Based Life
Saving Skills (HBLSS). ACNM and CORE
Group have partnered to leverage the experience of HBLSS implementing
organizations to promote program learning, improve field implementation, and
integrate HBLSS into existing programs. Other objectives include addressing the
need for more Master Trainers, updating curriculum materials, and streamlining
monitoring and evaluation. To date, a training of trainers for HBLSSwas
conductedwith CORE Group members and the curriculum materials have been
updated and finalized into a second edition. Future work will focus on creating
a field-friendly implementation and facilitation guide.
- HBLSS Guatemala. In 2012, ACNM began partnering with
Curamericas to implement Home-Based Life Saving Skills (HBLSS) in rural
northwest Guatemala in order to reduce pregnancy- and birth-related mortality
in the region that locals of San Sebastian Coatan call "The Triangle of
Death." With a rate of 584 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births,
these women face a 1-in-20 lifetime chance of dying in childbirth. At the
root of this high mortality is a lack of timely access to adequate
healthcare. Using ACNM's HBLSS curriculum, training was conducted to
increase the knowledge and skills of local communities in the early recognition
of maternal and neonatal problems and appropriate referral; the goal is to
reduce maternal and newborn mortality in this area. Following the HBLSS
Master Trainer Training, ACNM is working with Curamericas to develop a
sustainable and effective training cascade and supportive supervision system
for HBLSS in 12 communities.
- Scaling Up Family Planning Zambia. Beginning in 2012, ACNM was awarded a
four-year grant to partner with Abt Associates on their Scaling Up Family
Planning Program (SUFP) in Zambia project, funded by the Department for
International Development of the UK. Zambia has one of the highest rates
of maternal mortality in the world. The need for family planning and
fertility are the highest in rural areas and among the poorest, least educated,
and the youngest women. With this in mind, in collaboration with the
local ministries of health and development, SUFP will launch their program in
26 districts of Zambia. ACNM will be working to build the capacity of the
public sector to deliver quality family planning services through in-service
programs for family planning providers, focusing on areas with the highest
fertility rates and the most unmet need. Emphasis will be given to
expanding availability of long-term reversible contraception methods and
providing family planning services, with focus on adolescent girls and the
poorest women. The program will also engage community health workers to
sensitize men and others who influence family planning and will provide
accurate information to address popular myths and misconceptions. To
ensure sustainability of the project, outreach services as well as training and
mentoring to public health workers will be carried out. Read more about
SUFP from Abt Associates here and from DFID here.
- SHaRP: Strengthening Human Resources in Partnership, Zambia & Kenya. An award was made in November 2012 to
the Averting Maternal Death and Disability (AMDD) Program at Columbia
University, to study the implementation of task shifting of cesarean
sections (C‐sections) from
physicians to associate clinicians (previously known as non‐physician clinicians) in Zambia and Kenya. The
goal of the research is to develop guidance for low‐income countries seeking to implement and
improve task shifting programs. The research aims to understand the process of
moving from policy adoption of task shifting to actual implementation on the
ground. Partners on the project include Chainama College of Health Sciences
(Zambia), the American College of Nurse Midwives, Community Health Promotion
Kenya (CHPK), and the Africa Network for Associate Clinicians (ANAC).
Read more here.
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