Since July 2007, Christian Relief and Development, Inc. (CRDI) and its partners (the local community and the Ministry of Health/Health Zone officials) have been implementing an integrated facility-based Maternal and Child Health (MCH) program activities that focus on the delivery of essential curative and preventive services. The efforts for integrated delivery of services were reinforced during CY 2009 and program components that have been included in those MCH related program activities include:

Promotion of hygiene and sanitation through health education sessions at the clinic and surrounding communities;
Support and promotion of increased coverage of vaccination programs for children (0 – 5 years of age) and for women of reproductive age group (15 – 49 years);
Support and promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for infant (0 – 6 months of age);
Promotion of nutrition for pregnant women and children under five years of age;
Provision of prenatal and postnatal care and the related assisted delivery services;
Malaria control and prevention activities at the clinic at household level with special focus on the under five years of age group and pregnant women;
Referral for complicated cases of pregnancy;
Referral for confirmed cases of HIV/AIDS in pregnant women; andCase management of common illnesses (diarrheal diseases, acute respiratory infections, STI, etc.) in accordance with the established MOH and WHO protocols.

The MCH program activities conform to the Ministry of Health strategy for integrated delivery of primary health care services that includes the delivery of essential health services package. TheCRDI-assisted Health Centerhas adapted the strategy and has made considerable progress with coverage of the target population during the reporting period. The Congo Health center project is committed to continued delivery of integrated curative and preventive services at the community and the facility levels of the target Health Zone.

In order to support and promote the delivery of quality services in the target area of the Health Center, the Country Program Manager supported the training and capacity building of our Health Center staff (Nurse Supervisor, the MCH-Nurse and doctor in charge of prenatal and postnatal services at the clinic) through their participation in the MOH and donor-funded in-country training of health workers. The nurse supervisor participated in the three-month nurse training in counseling and screening for HIV/AIDS, and the referral of confirmed cases of HIV to the established facilities in the catchment area for care. The training that our nurse supervisor obtained in this area will contribute to future voluntary counseling and testing for HIV at theHealth Center. The training thatHealth Centerdoctor and the nurse received in the delivery of quality reproductive health services has contributed to the expansion of prenatal and postnatal care including the delivery of family planning services at the clinic.

With the anticipated delivery of additional medical supplies and equipment from CrossLink International in the United States, CRDI is also planning to expand the delivery of the facility-based curative and preventive services in Binza-Ozone Health Zone to respond to the Ministry of Health’s request to expand the delivery of our services to the neighboring semi-urban communities that have not been covered by the other development partners’ services. With a donation of an Ambulance from the JAMES PROJECT in theUnited States, CRDI plans to initiate and expand the delivery of emergency pediatrics and obstetric care with referral of complicated cases of pregnancies and illness in children to nearby hospital facilities for care.

With funding and material support from the United States,CRDI established and is currently expending the delivery of quality Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services in the outskirt of the city ofKinshasa. The target area for the Congo Health Center Project is Binza Ozone Health Zone and the estimated catchment area population is 50,000 people.

The target population is predominantly poor, semi urban-based, unemployed, and living on subsistence farming and trading of food commodities in the local market. The project’s overall goal is to reduce the prevailing high rates of infant and maternal mortality caused by the major public health problems.

The available estimates of health statistics in the target health zone are among the worst in the country with the under-five mortality rates of 148/1000live births. Maternal mortality ratio is also very high with 549/100,000 live births, largely due complication of pregnancies, anemia, hemorrhage, and infectious diseases (including HIV/AIDS/STIs). The major public health problems that are responsible for the majority of deaths in children include malaria, anemia, diarrheal diseases, and the acute respiratory infections (ARI). These conditions are exacerbated by malnutrition and the persistent lack of hygiene and sanitation in most semi-urban dwellings.

The Congo Health Center Project goal isto contribute to sustainable reduction of the Under-five and maternal morbidity and mortality in the target health zone. To achieve this goal, the project has been implementing a set of interventions that are expected to sustainably improve the quality of life of the target population and those interventions include: (a) Prevention and Treatment of Malaria; (b) Maternal and Child Health Care; (c) Control of Diarrheal Diseases; and (d) Pneumonia Case Management.