Ghana
Ghana is an essential contributor to the peace and political stability of West Africa. The country's communities, however, suffer from high mortality rates—malaria alone claims roughly 25 percent of infants under age five. HIV & AIDS and the lack of access to modern contraceptives and family planning services also lead to high maternal mortality.
In addition to providing technical and financial resources for Ghana's local health organizations, MSH has helped train community physicians, nurses, and volunteers to prioritize their leadership strengths and weaknesses and to develop effective response plans. More specifically, the Action for West Africa Region (AWARE) – Reproductive Health program focuses on family planning and reproductive health as well as on HIV & AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis education for mothers and children. MSH believes that women who are empowered with vital family planning and reproductive health information and services are less likely to contract and spread infectious diseases and, alternatively, are more likely to make reasonable health decisions capable of engendering stable families and promoting sustainable communities.
Experience in this Country
- Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems (SPS) Program 2007–2012
- Supply Chain Management System Project 2006–2008
- Leadership, Management and Sustainability (LMS) Program 2005–2010
- Extending Service Delivery (ESD) for Reproductive Health and Family Planning 2005–2010
- Action for West Africa Region (AWARE)-Reproductive Health 2003–2008
- Rational Pharmaceutical Management Plus Program 2000–2008
- Basic Support for Institutionalizing Child Survival (BASICS) 1999–2009
Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems (SPS) Program
2007–2012Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems is a follow-on to the Rational Pharmaceutical Management (RPM) Plus Program. MSH is pleased to announce that the US Agency for International Development has awarded us the Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems (SPS) Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement. SPS will focus on four key results:
- Improve governance in the pharmaceutical sector
- Strengthen pharmaceutical management systems to support public health services
- Contain the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance
- Expand access to and improved use of essential medicines
- BroadReach Healthcare
- Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network
- The Lewin Group
- LMI Government Consulting
- University of Washington Department of Global Health
- WHO Collaborating Center in Pharmaceutical Policy: Harvard University/Boston University
- African Medical and Research Foundation
- American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
- Euro Health Group
- Infectious Disease Institute at Makerere University
- Joint Commission International
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Supply Chain Management System Project
2006–2008SCMS (the Supply Chain Management System) supplies lifesaving medicines to HIV & AIDS programs around the world and is led by the Partnership for Supply Chain Management (a nonprofit organization established by MSH and JSI). The 17 SCMS international partners are hands-on and actively work to strengthen supply chains, enabling the scale-up of HIV & AIDS treatment in developing countries.
SCMS is funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to help deliver an uninterrupted supply of high-quality, affordable products including: antiretroviral drugs; drugs to treat opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis; and drugs and supplies for palliative and home-based care, HIV rapid test kits, and laboratory equipment. The project focuses on improving forecasting (to determine what drugs are really needed), aggregating demand and negotiating lower prices, and bringing the delivery mechanism closer to the point of use through regional warehouses. SCMS can work anywhere in the world, but is initially focused on the 15 Emergency Plan focus countries.
Leadership, Management and Sustainability (LMS) Program
2005–2010The Leadership, Management and Sustainability (LMS) Program develops managers and leaders who achieve results in the areas of reproductive health, HIV & AIDS, infectious disease, and maternal and child health. LMS works with health organizations in the public and private sectors to create sustainable programs and systems through improved leadership and management. By strengthening management systems and increasing system-wide leadership, LMS improves the performance of health care organizations at all levels, develops human resources, and builds the capacity to anticipate and respond effectively to changing external environments.
Extending Service Delivery (ESD) for Reproductive Health and Family Planning
2005–2010In order to enhance service delivery and the systems that support reproductive health (RH) and family planning (FP), ESD builds upon the extensive work of the now-complete Advance Africa and CATALYST Projects.
The USAID Office of Population and Reproductive Health will support a core agenda focused on increased utilization of quality RH/FP services at the community level among underserved and at-risk groups, especially youth, families in the poorest economic quintiles, postpartum and postabortion clients, and people at-risk for or infected with HIV.
Action for West Africa Region (AWARE)-Reproductive Health
2003–2008AWARE works with West African regional health institutions and networks with potential for becoming local leaders in expanding and improving health services across the region, and in creating a regional response to reproductive health and HIV & AIDS issues as an alternative to country-by-country solutions.
AWARE works with selected regional health institutions to facilitate development of a network of Regional Technical Leadership Institutions. The project aims to strengthen these institutions through enhanced strategic planning, leadership development, and application of regional best practices in reproductive health and HIV & AIDS-each contributing to improved quality of family planning, reproductive health, infectious diseases and child survival services. By mobilizing social and donor capital and improving institutional effectiveness, the AWARE project aims to develop regional capacity and management expertise at local institutions, thus enabling advocacy for needed health policies that can reach all countries in the region.
MSH is a subcontractor responsible for the child survival, institutional capacity and regional commodity planning elements of the project. MSH is partnering with EngenderHealth, Abt Associates, and AED on the AWARE project.
Rational Pharmaceutical Management Plus Program
2000–2008RPM Plus works in more than 40 developing countries to provide technical assistance to strengthen pharmaceutical and health commodity management systems. The program works to improve the availability and use of quality medicines, supplies, and basic medical equipment in the public and private sectors and to promote practical, sustainable changes in pharmaceuticals management by developing capacity within cooperating countries and fostering collaboration between countries.
Basic Support for Institutionalizing Child Survival (BASICS)
1999–2009As a technical assistance partner for newborn and child health to the USAID Bureau for Global Health, the Basic Support for Institutionalizing Child Survival (BASICS) Project develops and implements strategies to reduce preventable infant and childhood deaths in the developing world. MSH works as a partner in BASICS, which began its third phase in October 2004. Under this indefinite quantity contract (IQC), BASICS assists USAID/Washington Bureaus, USAID field missions, host-country governments, donor agencies, NGOs, PVOs, research institutions, and the private sector to scale up and increase the use of newborn and child health and nutrition interventions by families, communities, and health systems. Since 1993, BASICS has worked to achieve substantial improvements in coverage and to expand effective newborn and child health interventions. BASICS focus areas include newborn health, essential nutrition actions like vitamin A supplementation, immunization, integrated management of childhood illness, treatment of diarrhea and pneumonia, and malaria control. In addition to strengthening the delivery of basic newborn and child health services, BASICS has expanded its technical scope to include pediatric HIV & AIDS, birth spacing, and child survival and nutrition in complex humanitarian crises. BASICS areas of expertise include assistance to countries on comprehensive strategies or selected interventions for newborn and child health, building partnerships, delivery of quality newborn and child health services, community-based treatment and private sector approaches to expand access to services, and capacity building and training.
