IMPROVING HEALTH THROUGH STRONGER SYSTEMS

A strong, resilient health system is the key to achieving sustainable improvements in health and health care in any country. A health system is made up of many layers of institutions and individuals that, together, contribute to the availability, quality and affordability of preventative, curative and palliative health services.

ARDF strategies for ensuring access to improved and quality health care services.

a) Health work forces, including recruiting qualified and skilled health workers for the provision of quality health care services in the supported health facilities.

b) child health services including integrated management of neonatal and childhood illness (IMNCI), health promotion, vitamin A supplementation and Deworming, routine immunization, Nutrition screening and treatment, awareness on infant young child feeding (IYCF) practices, and LLINs distribution.

c) Maternal Health care services including antenatal care (ANC), skilled delivery (SBA), Postnatal care, Prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services, Family planning, Basic Emergency obstetric and newborn care (BEmONC), comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (CEmONC), services addressing sexual and gender-based violence,

d) Provision of essential medicine to the facilities, Bomas and Mobile medical units. ARDF ensures timely last Mile Distribution and management of essential medicines and supplies in the Counties, overhauling storage facilities and de- junking of expire drugs.

e) Strengthening disease surveillance and outbreak response, and referral system in each County.

f) Quality improvement such as supportive supervision, improving infection prevention and control in the facilities, maintaining facilities clean, proper waste management and imposing environmental safety measures and capacity building of health providers; integrated management of neonatal and childhood illnesses (IMNCI), immunization in practice (IIP), Infection prevention and control (IPC), BEmONC/CEmONC, Rational drug use and pharmaceutical management, PMTCT, CMR, IYCF, CMAM, and Family Planning.

g) Strengthen the Coordination and leadership role of CHD and state ministry of health (SMOH) through prompt payment of incentives to the health workers, CHD and SMOH officials, monthly coordination meetings at the County Level, quarterly review meeting at state level, Monthly in-charges review meeting, and provision of internet in all CHD, PHCCs and PHCUs. In addition, ARDF integrate its key program staff with CHD, ensuing they work within CHD premises, sharing the same office to improve knowledge transfer, facilitating the transitioning of the health system to the responsibility of CHD. CHD officials are capacitated on leadership and management, human resource for health, pharmaceutical stock management, and supportive supervision. At the state level, ARDF Co-locate its key staff to improve coordination and collaboration.

h) ARDF work with CHD to ensure services reach communities at grassroot level through Boma health initiative (BHI) program focusing on management of childhood morbidities including Malaria, Pneumonia and Diarrhea. Boma Health workers (BHWs) and BHI supervisors are established and supported with monthly incentives, essential drugs, supplies, community health management information system tools (CHMIS), and train on BHI phase 1, 2 and 3 to provide community health care services as per BHI guidelines. ARDF and CHD will undertake monthly supportive supervision to BHWs.

i) Innovatively, ARDF uses its participatory approach by engaging community stakeholders, youths, religious leaders, and women leaders etc. on community dialogue meetings, discussing issues that create health care demand and peace building to allow health services provided to the population without interruption.

j) ARDF regularly conduct mobile medical clinic to reach hard-to-reach communities.

k) ARDF and CHD report health services through DHIS2 and Kobo Collect online electronic technologies for reporting health services monthly. Health workers are provided with HMIS tools and trained on how to use them for effective data recording and generation of reports in health facilities.