UPHOLD - Our Work

HEALTH

The Health component works to improve quality and use of services and other healthful behaviors in core areas:

Integrated Reproductive Health;

Child & Adolescent Health; and

Communicable Disease Control.

The health component supports local governments and civil society organizations to improve delivery of services through new equipment, training, and supportive supervision of health workers in health facilities. To increase access to services in communities, UPHOLD supports drug distributors to deliver home-based management of fever (HBMF) and is working with the Ministry of Health on an integrated community package of preventive and curative services for children and pregnant women.

Increased demand for and use of services is promoted through strategic communication including interpersonal communication through health workers, religious leaders, radio and traditional media. Strengthened relationships between providers and consumers, improved family dialogue, and reduced gender-based violence are core areas of emphasis to promote quality and use of services.

Integrated Reproductive Health: UPHOLD promotes:

Improved antenatal and postnatal care;

Safe and clean deliveries;

Essential obstetric care;

Postabortion care;

Gender-sensitive approaches;

Effective dialogue and decisionmaking in families and communities;

Increased access to and utilization of quality family planning services and methods;

Youth–friendly services; and

Efficient synergies with control of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and malaria.

Child and Adolescent Health: UPHOLD’s key interventions include:

Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) and Community IMCI;

Community based growth promotion;

Improved strategies and indicators for nutrition;

Vitamin A and micronutrient supplementation;

Promoting exclusive breastfeeding;

Childhood immunizations;

Youth-friendly services;

Innovative strategies promoting peer support groups, child to child activities, and parent-child communication (Download Listening Parents Guide, a guide for parents to talk to their children 8 to 12 years).

Communicable Disease Control: Malaria control activities include:

Promoting implementation of new MOH National Malaria Treatment Policy using arteminisin-based combination therapy;

Scaling up community-based TB DOTS;

The effective home-based management of fever;

Intermittent presumptive treatment of malaria during pregnancy;

Promoting use of insecticide-treated nets.

UPHOLD is also working to control tuberculosis, schistosomiasis, and other communicable diseases in a multi-sectoral approach.