Leadership, Management and Sustainability (LMS) Program

Aina and baby Temitope with one of the nurses at General Hospital Kabba.

With the assistance of the BPH program facilitators, Saposoa has developed plans that will greatly increase the community’s access to basic health services. Photo by Michael Paydos, 2008.

Aina and Temitope – A New Day, A New Hope

There is no denying that HIV is a terrible illness with far-reaching implications capable of destroying the fabric of human lives in communities across Nigeria. Almost more devastating than the considerable physical pain suffered by the patient, is the emotional anguish caused by the stigma and the financial stress associated with the disease and its treatment. The story of Aina Babalola provides a real-time example of this all-too-common scenario.

Healthy Families and Communities in Peru

Sapasoa, Peru. In June 2007, the Business Planning for Health (BPH) program was brought to Peru to contribute to the sustainability and involvement of municipalities in their development. Teams from eight municipalities participated in the program with support from two experienced BPH facilitators and six staff from the Health Communities and Municipalities (HCM) Project who were trained to facilitate the program to enable future programs without outside assistance.

Members of the JVC (Juntas Vecinales Comunales, or “community committees”) present data they’ve collected for their community. This data is sent to the municipality where it is entered into SISMUNI.

Strengthening Municipalities to Improve Community Planning and Management

The Healthy Communities and Municipalities Project in Peru designed, implemented, and is now offering support to the Sistema de Información Comunal (Community Information System, or SISMUNI), a municipal public health information system. The HCM model enables communities to perform a needs assessment—documenting demographic and economic information and identifying the community’s priorities for becoming a healthy community.

	One small community rises to become a national model Throughout Peru, the child malnutrition rate averaged 25% in 2007. In many rural and remote regions, that rate soars to over 50%. Yet in the small community of Almendras, made up of 40 families in a remote region of Northern Peru, none of the children under five are malnourished. In the past two years, every infant has been exclusively breast fed for six months, and all children under five are receiving five meals a day. What has brought about this change? One factor has been the community’s early adoption in the Healthy Communities and Municipalities Project, implemented by LMS.
	Improving Institutional Efficiency within MiFamilia Two simple interventions produced the immediate results of reduced client wait times and dramatically improved information sharing efficiency at one MiFamilia center in Nicaragua. Managua, Nicaragua. Set on the edge of the bustling Mercado Oriental, the largest open-air market in Central America, is the Delegación Oriental de MiFamilia. It is a small building on a relatively empty side street, providing an unusually quiet respite from the chaos of the market space. MiFamilia is the federal government ministry that provides social services to children, adolescents, women, and vulnerable population groups.
	Pioneering Openness in HIV/AIDS Awareness The Pemba Island Relief Organization (PIRO) won a grant from the Rapid Funding Envelope (RFE) in 2005 aimed at raising awareness and providing education on HIV/AIDS on the island of Pemba.
	Business Planning for Health within Municipalities Yalí is a municipality of 27,000 residents spread out over a large area. More than 80 percent of the population is in rural areas, mostly growing coffee and other agricultural products. Faced with a limited tax base, insufficient support from a country struggling to develop, and a remote location that makes development aid difficult to reach, Yalí has faced many challenges. In late 2005, a team of municipal leaders participated in a program called Business Planning for Health (BPH), sponsored by USAID.
	Faith-Based Facilities in Uganda Face Their Human Resource Challenges Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau (UPMB) and the Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau (UCMB) are faith-based umbrella organizations that oversee more than 400 hospitals, health centers, and other clinics. Together with the Uganda Muslim Medical Bureau, they provide nearly half the medical services in Uganda.
	Profamilia: Planning for Success The Virtual Strategic Planning Program assists a Nicaraguan organization in mapping out a successful future. Profamilia operates through 16 clinics to provide family planning and reproductive health services to many of the most underserved regions of Nicaragua. It is the second-largest supplier of family planning services in the country after the Ministry of Health.