The United Methodist Church recognizes that every child is filled with promise and potential, our commitment is to reach 1 million children with lifesaving interventions from 2016-2020 by supporting efforts of faith based partners in rural and poor urban communities around the world.
Program goal
The initiative aims to increase coverage of 20 lifesaving interventions for mothers and children to at least 80% in the targeted communities over a five year period.
Partners are closer to their goals of reducing maternal, neonatal and child morbidity and mortality rates through improveD access to improved MNCH services but also through using WHO’s framework for strengthening health systems, implementing comprehensive malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment programing (sub Saharan Africa), encouraging active community participation, and, as possible, implementing health and development programs like improved nutrition, food security and water, sanitation, and hygiene. 730,458 children under 5 years of age have been reached with life- saving interventions in about 20 countries.
United Methodist congregations have provided most of the funds and in-kind contributions for this work, they are also among the implementers, usually in partnership with their respective Governments, and are represented in program services area. However, services are open to all. This has increased community commitment and ownership. Global Ministries is committed to work with marginalized, underserved communities of the global south and north, where women, adolescents, and children are the primary beneficiaries. Values underlying all programming are people-centeredness, equity, capacity-building, and respect.
Beneficiaries have been positively impacted by improved access to services through Community Health Workers, mobile clinics, and vouchers for transport. And, over the last four years, 87 health facilities have been renovated or rebuilt, have a water supply, secure latrines, and are staffed, equipped, and supplied. Every effort is being made to follow World Health Organization best practices and Government health policies.
Adolescent health has been approached differently. Approved sexual and reproductive health education, including HIV awareness, has been taken to students at high schools in several projects. Others, in Brazil and the United States, have focused on the promotion of mental health and the prevention and treatment of substance abuse through training, afterschool centers and camps, rehabilitation, and recovery support. The Initiative also has a scholarship program (the United States) for youth from minority groups.
Two major training events have taken place for church partners in sub Saharan African in 2019. Firstly, a refresher course in emergency obstetric care for 14 physicians and midwives. Then, later, representatives of all implementing partners met to focus on data collection and evidence based decision making. The latter complemented the malaria program’s pilot Short Message Service data collection system in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This last year, Program Officer supervisory skills have become more focused and On-The-Job training has improved the competence and confidence of health facility staff, their ownership of the work and even respectful care. Church Partners in the eastern part of the DRC traveled to multiple villages to teach clergy, women’s groups, high school students and other community members about Ebola prevention at the height of 2019’s outbreak.
There have also been at least two multisectoral linkages. Firstly, the program in eastern Nigeria signed an agreement with a local taxi union to provide emergency transport for women with obstetric emergencies. Secondly, Global Ministries’ renewable energy desk, a company in Liberia and Liberia’s UM Ganta Hospital are partnering to electrify and maintain the facility’s solar power installations.
