CHILDREN AND MOTHERS PARTNERSHIPS (CHAMPS)
Where: Western, Mwandi district
WHY: CHAMPS is driven by our commitment to long-term health justice for vulnerable women, children, and their communities. Rural Mwandi, a district established in 2012 along the Zambezi River, between Namibia and Zambia, is dependent on agriculture for its economy and is hard to reach. Farmers live in isolated communities scattered across remote areas, without access to electricity and running water. The soil is poor, its productivity low, and district poverty pervasive. Yields from the shallow water table are often saline, so women and children must walk long distances to access the scarce clean and safe water. The two hospitals and 11 health facilities that serve the district, including Mwandi Mission Hospital, have limited supplies and equipment. Economic opportunities beyond subsistence agriculture are very limited.
FUNDING PARTNERS: CMMB Inc.; Becton Dickinson; P&G; Raskob Foundation; Butler Foundation; and Private and anonymous donors.
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Mwandi Mission Hospital (MMH); Ministry of Health, District Health Office (DHO); Ministry of Agriculture & Cooperation; Ministry of Water Development & Sanitation; and Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing & Urban Development.
WHAT: CHAMPS aims to improve the quality of, and access to, health services and empower communities to adopt healthy practices. The project supports basic primary healthcare in health facilities by providing equipment and supplies, improving health facility infrastructure, and supporting community outreach to provide comprehensive prevention and treatment services. In Mwandi, CHAMPS also improves water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). A2HealthZ has made a multi-year commitment to Mwandi and will remain a partner to the MMH and DHO in their plans for improving people’s health in the district.
OBJECTIVES:
• Build community resilience against disease
• Protect mothers and newborns from, and treat them for, communicable diseases
• Protect mothers and newborns from, and treat them for, complications of pregnancy and childbirth so maternal and neonatal mortality is reduced
• Provide equipment and supplies
• Improve infrastructure
• Support outreach into the community to provide comprehensive prevention and treatment service
• Improve water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in low-resource and isolated communities
