Port-au-Prince, May 28, 2023 --- The issue of maternal and child health is among the priorities of the Ministry of Public Health and Population. In order to mobilize resources for the implementation of interventions in this direction, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a programming workshop brought together from May 22 to 25, 2023, expert executives in the field of Greater South. This involved drafting a five-year request document to submit to Global Affairs Canada, Haiti's main technical and financial partner.

To ensure ownership of this initiative by all stakeholders at the national level, consultations were organized with high-level decision-makers (Ministers of the MSPP, MCFDF, MEP, and their respective technical teams) and community stakeholders, particularly matrons. , pregnant women and providers, thanks to focus groups and guided individual interviews. A rapid assessment made it possible to update the needs at the level of healthcare structures.

The Director of Family Health, the Departmental Director of Grand Anse, and regional executives from the Ministry of Women's Affairs and Women's Rights participated in this meeting. This proposal aims to improve the health and sexual rights of women and girls in vulnerable situations and victims of sexual violence in the regions of the Great South of Haiti, in particular the departments of Sud, Nippes, Grand'Anse and the South-East, which continue to record the lowest maternal and child health indicators in the country. The project sets the following specific objectives:

• Increased quality of training (initial and continuing) of the Faculty of Midwives and annexes with an emphasis on skills in sexual and reproductive health and gender equality.
• Increased provision of holistic and quality sexual and reproductive health services that are gender-friendly and adapted to the needs of women and girls.
• Increased advocacy for greater involvement of women, girls, midwives and men, agents of change, in the processes of integrating sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence into public policies and management processes. management.

After four days of intense reflection and production work, all the expected results were achieved to the great satisfaction of everyone.

Text: Dr Thomas Zoungrana, Senior Coordinator of Maternal, Newborn and Adolescent Health