Northeast Nigeria isn’t known for being easy. It’s a complex environment: hot, dry and prone to droughts. Infrastructure is weak. Roads, hospitals, water systems and electricity simply don’t function throughout much of the state. The government health systems struggle to provide comprehensive care to citizens. These citizens aren’t engaged in holding institutions accountable, and often can’t access — or choose not to access — maternal and child health services. Boko Haram’s presence only complicates these challenges. Where do you start to create change and improve lives of mothers and children in a place like this?
The State Accountability and Quality Improvement Project (SAQIP), funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and implemented by Pact, is starting by addressing both the government’s ability to provide services, and the people’s ability and willingness to access them. It’s an integrated approach that targets both the supply side (the government and health care providers) and the demand side (the people, particularly women). Local government authorities and primary health care facilities receive technical assistance through training, mentoring and coaching to improve their administration, management and oversight and data collection skills. SAQIP doesn’t simply help the government collect better data, it also builds the capacity of government employees to use that data to shape decision-making.
Read more at: http://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/supply-and-demand-targeting-provider...