Online Program

Oral

At the June 2012 Call to Action, the global community established a target for ending preventable child deaths by 2035. Targets for ending preventable maternal and newborn deaths have since been established. Universal health coverage and community led action are central to accelerate progress towards MDGs and develop a post-2015 sustainable development agenda including these goals. Severe health workforce shortages limit countries’ ability to provide quality care. Only 7 Countdown countries reported having skilled professionals to achieve high coverage of essential interventions. A UNICEF bottleneck analysis recommended task shifting to lower level workers, like CHWs. INGOs are community health leaders, effectively translating Alma Ata principles into sustainable programs while creating enabling policy environments. INGOs have developed CHW solutions, including approaches to expand roles through task shifting. This panel showcases evidence and experience in task shifting from USAID’s Child Survival and Health Grants Program INGO partners in Niger, Zambia, and Kenya.

Session Objectives: Identify and analyze effective task shifting strategies involving community health workers for maternal and child survival. Analyze key considerations for incorporation of task shifting approaches in national strategies. Describe the role of community oriented solutions in the current policy and program context to end preventable child and maternal deaths