UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

Published purpose

This project aims to improve maternal, newborn and child health in Zanzibar, by strengthening its health system and the ability of its health workers to deliver live-saving health services to mothers, newborns and children. The project seeks to increase the coverage of quality emergency obstetric care, newborn and child health services, and high impact nutrition interventions to all ten regions, benefitting more than 75,000 pregnant women, 130,000 mothers and 390,000 children and youth. Some project activities include: (1) purchasing essential medicines, supplies and equipment for maternal, newborn and child health services; (2) supporting training programs for assistant medical officers and nurses on comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care and anaesthesia; (3) supporting e-learning and training that includes the use of multimedia material on difficulties and life-threatening complications that can occur during pregnancy or child birth, such as high blood pressure or loss of blood after child birth; (4) building the ability of tutors, clinical instructors and preceptors to teach best practices in service delivery for maternal, newborn and child health; (5) training health workers and community health workers on newborn and child care; (6) promoting care seeking behaviour to pregnant women, mothers and caregivers of children under the age of five and adolescents; and (7) refurbishing and equipping district hospitals, cottage hospitals, maternity hospitals and health centres providing maternity services.