Mennonite Health Care in DR Congo by Franklin Baer Senior Advisor to I.M.A. for SANRU III

1. Mennonite Health Care in DR Congo by Franklin Baer Senior Advisor to I.M.A. for SANRU III Baertracks, Harrisonburg VA

2. How can we help to improve the health of people in DR Congo?

3. Ten Commandments of Health • Exclusive Breastfeeding • Vaccinate completely • Vitamin A twice a year • Sleeping under bednets (ITN) • Prompt treatment for fevers • Oral Rehydration Therapy for diarrhea • Washing hands regularly • Prenatal preventive treatment of malaria • Child Spacing • Abstinence and loyalty to avoid AIDS

4. The Ten Commandments of Health

5. Ten Commandments of Health

6. Mennonite Health Work in DR Congo The blue lines show all the “paved” roads of Congo!

7. The 306 Health Zones of DR Congo

8. Health Zones are . . . Well-defined geographic areas Strongly decentralized Often co-managed by FBOs

9. 1) Health Zones are well-defined geographic areas • Population of 150,000 • Communities (200) • Health centers (20) • A referral hospital (1)

10. Health Zones and Health Care in DR Congo

11. The Health Zone of Nyanga (West Kasai Province)

12. NYANGAA Typical Health Zone Reference Hospital HZ OfficeHealth Centers

13. 2) HZs are strongly decentralized • Defined from the bottom up • Survive by local initiatives and auto-financing • Well positioned as “middle-out” development agents

14. 400 Hospitals in Congo (c. 1973)

15. 1975-1981

16. 1982-1983: SANRU I begins

17. 1984-1985

18. 3) Health Zones are often co-managed by FBOs • Very good collaboration between the MOH and FBOs • FBOs are not confused with the for-profit private sector • 50% of HZs co-managed by FBOs

19. FBO/NGO Co-managed Health Zones

22. 306 Health Zones

23. 515 Health Zones

27. Populations Served by Mennonite Co-Managed Health Zones

28. ECC-I.M.A PMURR/SANTE The I.M.A./ECC Congo Projects SANRU III

29. Project GoalsSANRU & PMURR Strengthen and sustain the capacity of health zones to provide and manage priority primary health care interventions.

30. Four NGO Development Strategies From Getting to the 21st Century by David Korten

31. Priority PHC Interventions • Exclusive Breastfeeding • Vaccinate completely • Vitamin A twice a year • Sleeping under bednets (ITN) • Prompt treatment for fevers • Oral Rehydration Therapy for diarrhea • Washing hands regularly • Prenatal preventive treatment of malaria • Child Spacing • Abstinence and loyalty to avoid AIDS

32. SANRU & PMURR 75 Health Zones

33. A Typical Health Center in Kalonda Health Zone

34. Rehabilitation Efforts in Collaboration with SANRU

35. Well Baby ClinicsVaccinations, Vitamin A, Growth Monitoring, Health Education

36. Two Questions 1) What assistance can and should N. American Mennonites provide to help with this work? 2) What effective mechanisms could get that assistance where it can do the most good?

37. Possible Strategies • Encourage the new Partnership Council to put health care on its development agenda • Strengthen the role of CMCO & CFMC in the co-management of health zones • Organize informational mtgs. of N. Amer. partners to discuss how they can help. • Compare sustainable systems development strategies with other denominations • Coordinate assistance with I.M.A./ECC’s SANRU and PMURR projects

38. Santé Pour Tous et par Tous