Goal, objectives and implementation strategies

Briefly, the Manoshi project has the following goal and objectives aimed at addressing the worsening health situation of Bangladesh’s urban slum dwellers:

Goal
Decrease illness and death in mothers, newborns, and children in urban slums in Bangladesh through the development and delivery of an integrated, community-based package of essential health services.
 
Objectives

• Define, test and implement, and scale-up five interrelated components of BRAC’s essential health services package for women and children
• Develop a financing strategy for sustaining the programme post grant funding.

Implementation strategies
Manoshi’s implementation strategy builds on BRAC’s extensive experience with taking oral rehydration therapy nationwide, and their rural efforts in delivering MNCH services. Briefly, Manoshi has taken BRAC’s Essential Care Programme model that has been so successful in rural Bangladesh and adapted it to the urban setting. Components of the implementation strategy include:

• Capacity development of community health workers and birth attendants to offer antenatal, safe delivery and postnatal care, neonatal care and child health care;
• Health service provision for pregnant and lactating women, neonates and under-five children;
• Timely referral to quality health facilities;
• Community empowerment through development of women’s groups; and
• Linkages with government, local government, community people and NGOs.

The uniqueness of the programme will be to identify all pregnancies and follow them up no matter where women seek care. Pregnant women will be encouraged to give birth at a BRAC birthing hut with a trained urban traditional birth attendant (UBA) where they can have a private and hygienic delivery. In case of complications, women will be ensured comprehensive emergency obstetric care in pre-selected referral facilities, preferably in the Urban Primary Health Care Project (UPHCP) run health facilities operated by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (MoLGRDC).