Togo: Reinforcing community capacity to protect the lives of children and theirs mothers

BACKGROUND. In Togo, the under-five mortality rate is 123/1000 mainly due to malaria, diarrhea and respiratory diseases. Communities seldom use health facilities for their health problems. Therefore, a community-based Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) program is an opportunity for the reduction of child mortality. THE PROJECT. Since 2008, Plan International, a child-centered humanitarian organization is implementing a three-year community IMCI project in partnership with the Ministry of the Health and a local NGO (SOS Vita) in East Mono district (tot pop 90,000). Baseline studies showed that the practice of the WHO-supported 17 IMCI healthy behaviors was very low. The project activities are: identification, training and equipment with working kits for 310 community health workers; training of 34 health professionals and 6 staff of the local NGO; training of 85 health centers' management team members; training and sensitization of 53 health committees; production of communication tools for community volunteers to promote the 17 key behaviors. RESULTS: At the project's mid-term review (October 2009), all community volunteers have been trained in the promotion of 8 of the 17 IMCI practices. A partnership has been developed between public heath service providers, the local NGO and communities in the 52 district communities. As a result, the percent of under-five children using health services has increased by 20% in the first project year, which is beyond the project's expectations. NEXT STEPS. The implementation of the project is underway and in the Denver APHA meeting, the authors will have outcome results to report.