Footprints Project

A total of
11796
Travelers
donated
$30007.29
(100% funded)
to help improve
Health
in
Vanuatu

Program Background

The original aims of this program were to help combat the major issue of teenage pregnancy and malnutrition in Vanuatu. According to a 2009 census, at least 8% of 15-19 year old girls in the country have given birth. In addition to this, due to malnutrition, 20% of these children are stunted. In order to effectively combat this trend Save the Children aims to implement training programs to teach young mothers about micronutrient supplementation, nutrient education and infant and young child feeding counselling.

Although this was the core aim of the project, tragedy struck the region early in its lifecycle in the form of Cyclone Pam. The ensuing environmental damage impeded the initial efforts towards this goal and forced the project to include recovery efforts as well as re-establishing availability and access to primary health care services.

Key Challenges and successes

Obviously, the delivery of the intended program was affected by the aftermath of the cyclone. With instability in the local Ministry of Health and reduced support from both the central and provincial level, the project was impeded during the first half of the year.

Due to the lack of existing training materials and resources for community based Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH) and nutrition training, the project decided to develop in-house training materials in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders. These materials will continue to be developed for use in maternal nutrition programs in the future.

The lack of up-to-date evidence-based policies and procedures, supervision and oversight of primary health care services (including medical supplies) were all challenges faced during the program implementation period. These challenges were minimised by working with communities to develop baseline data, community maps and strengthen community-planning processes.

The cyclone’s effects displaced several thousand people in the region, including Save the Children staff and communities participating in the project. This unfortunately affected the programs ability to deliver fully on its 2014-15 objectives and outcomes.

Project Impact

Despite the necessary inclusion of relief efforts following the cyclone, the awareness and training programs managed to reach over 4,000 caregivers in the Shefa, Tafea, Penama and Malampa regions.

The project also aided the supervision of 75 Village Health Worker (VHW) Aid Posts, which provide healthcare and nutrition services. Critical in-service training was delivered to these VHW Aid posts on nutrition/WASH/child protection and disability health promotion messages in all cyclone-affected areas, helping with the primary goal of educating and training caregivers in Vanuatu.

With UNICEF complementing the funding, the project was able to extend its VHW reach and achieve increased access to quality health and nutrition services.

Relief efforts from the project reconstructed and restocked four Aid Posts with essential drugs and equipment in Efate, Ekipe, Mormarte and Epau. These posts provided services for almost 5,000 people.

A further 48 Aid posts were restocked with essential medicine and equipment and provided services to almost 10,000 people affected by the cyclone