African Health Initiative

Mozambique IDEA Program

Program Leadership:

• Quinhas Fernandes, M.D., M.P.H.
  Deputy National Director for Public Health, Ministry of Health, Mozambique

• Kenneth Sherr, Ph.D., M.P.H.
  Associate Professor, University of Washington & Director of Implementation Science, Health Alliance International

In 2009, DDCF funded the Mozambique Population Health and Implementations Training (PHIT) Partnership—a consortium of academic and implementation agencies to carry out a seven-year project in the Sofala Province aimed at improving the functionality of the health system and the delivery of data-driven services to an estimated population of about two million. The partnership was focused on:

1. improving the quality and availability of routine information systems across 13 districts and over 150 health facilities in two provinces in central Mozambique;
2. increasing the ability of district and facility management to better use data for decision-making;
3. providing financial support for planning and implementation of district health plans; and
4. researching more effective implementation strategies to better address bottlenecks in the health system.

The Integrated District Evidence to Action (IDEA) program, the next phase of AHI in Mozambique, builds on the lessons learned in the initial PHIT project to reach its goal of reducing neonatal mortality rates specifically by improving how evidence-based interventions are delivered at or around the time of birth. IDEA targets the six most populous districts in Sofala Province and is replicated in six highly populated districts in the neighboring Manica Province.

• conducting performance review meetings, where district and provincial leadership teams review coverage and quality measures of evidence-based maternal, newborn, and child health interventions to identify priority problems, data gaps and their causes;
• developing actionable plans that clearly spell out priorities for each district and facility, roles and responsibilities, required resources, and a timeline for completion;
• reinforcing systems of mutual accountability between provincial, district and facility leadership to monitor and ensure that plans are executed; and
• disseminating best practices and revised norms and guidelines for maternal, newborn and child health.

Core to all of IDEA’s goals and strategies is a targeted effort to conduct implementation research that both inform and align with the goals of national health policy and strategy development. Outcomes from implementation research help explain how the plans and strategies are actually implemented in practice—in order to better achieve improved service delivery and health outcomes. Additionally, IDEA includes a staff development program offering Mozambican clinicians and health system leaders master’s and doctoral degrees in implementation science at the University of Washington in Seattle. To ensure that the academic research remains driven by on-the-ground priorities in Mozambique, one major aspect of the program has been identifying and responding to the research priorities set by the Ministry of Health at both central and provincial levels. The program also focuses on evaluations of the process and results of IDEA’s activities—all to support the potential of replicating and scaling up successful interventions.

Implementing partners of the IDEA program include the Mozambique Ministry of Health, the Beira Operations Research Center (CIOB), Health Alliance International, Eduardo Mondlane University’s School of Medicine and the University of Washington.

Learn about the other African Health Initiative Phase 2 Countries by visiting the links below: