The 2nd edition of the annual regional meeting of the community of practice in postpartum family planning (PFPP) integrated into maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) and nutrition in French-speaking West Africa took place in virtual, March 10 and 11, 2021, in Ouagadougou.
“Implementation of PPFP programs integrated with MNCH and nutrition in the context of COVID-19, best practices and lessons learned”. It is under this theme that the 2nd edition of the annual regional meeting of the community of practice in postpartum family planning (PFPP) integrated into maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) and nutrition in Africa. ‘Ouest francophone took place on March 10 and 11, 2021, in Ouagadougou.
Participants shared the experiences and lessons learned from associations of health professionals in the implementation of the integration of PPFP in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also discussed the follow-up of commitments with those in charge of national FP and MNCH programs, local elected officials, stakeholders and partners in the implementation of priority actions and scaling up plans for the PPFP integrated into the MNCH and Nutrition services. Mobilizing donors for the continued support of integrated PPFP scaling-up plans at national and regional level and promoting and expanding to other partners and actors of the regional Community of Practice were also discussed.
The Minister of Health, Charlemagne Ouédraogo, welcomed the commitment of all actors alongside mothers and children who pay a heavy price for fatal diseases, preventable by comprehensive integrated care in a continuum of care that meets needs. essential health services for them. “The disease burden remains high in the West African region and women are exposed to a risk of maternal death of 1 in 34 during their lifetime,” lamented the minister. As for infants, “34 out of 1,000 do not survive their first 28 days of life,” he continued. In view of this situation, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a health policy centered on the person in order to put in place systems capable of meeting the new and varied challenges.
A package of health services
Thus, underlined the Minister in charge of health, most of the governments of French-speaking West Africa have committed to devote significant resources to health development in order to initiate the resolute march towards universal coverage in services. basic health essentials. Most health professionals can offer services related to FP, maternal health, child health or nutrition.
However, these services are generally provided individually and considered to be separate services. To achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), health systems must provide integrated, people-centered primary health care. Hence the importance of integrating FP into MNCH and nutrition services. It gives more opportunities to beneficiaries to be offered a package of needed health services and health workers can provide multiple services at a single point of contact.
To hear Charlemagne Ouédraogo, to accelerate the process of scaling up integrated care, strategic partnerships have been initiated, in particular the PFPP community of practice integrated into MNCH and nutrition in February 2020 in accordance with the recommendations of the regional PFPP workshop integrated in Cotonou of 2019. He believes that the French-speaking West Africa region has made enormous progress in recent years, which deserves to be strengthened. This community of practice has over 150 members and is chaired by WHO / AFRO.
Habibata WARA
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