Population Services International

Neonatal:

In late 2009, PSI’s Nigerian affiliate, Society for Family Health (SFH), launched the Maternal and Neonatal Health Care Project in Gombe State. This learning project funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) aims to assess ways and effects of increasing access to care by training traditional birth attendants and Federation of Muslim Women Association volunteers to deliver home based care to mothers and newborn babies. Since June 2010, more than 1,600 safe deliveries have been assisted and almost 6,500 pregnant women have received a visit from a birth attendant or volunteer.

SFH also reached out to 740 medicine vendors and trained them on maternal and newborn care, danger signs and referral procedures. Those who have been trained are now providing services and sale of clean delivery kits for use during delivery.

With a focus on increasing access to knowledge and care, SFH has established a call center that disseminates information regarding health facilities and midwives, as well as access to the Emergency Transport Scheme, a team of drivers that provide transportation for pregnant mothers and their newborns during emergency situations, thus reducing the time delay in women accessing appropriate medical care during delivery.

Evaluation of the project is scheduled for late 201, into early 2012, coinciding with the project end date.

Child Survival:

In the past decade, PSI has empowered people worldwide to treat more than 97 billion liters of drinking water, preventing diarrheal diseases. PSI combines oral rehydration salts (ORS) and zinc into diarrhea treatment kits (DTKs), which create a powerful and effective tool to decrease the incidence, severity and recurrence of diarrheal disease. In 2010, PSI distributed DTKs in 12 countries, resulting in the prevention of 30,637 DALYs.

Through public and private sector partnerships, PSI has delivered more than 120 million insecticide treated mosquito nets in 30 countries. PSI has also greatly expanded access to artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), moving beyond public health facilities into local communities.

Education and distribution campaigns have enabled caretakers to prevent, identify, and properly treat pneumonia with PSI’s pre-packaged pneumonia treatment kits. Together, these interventions have averted millions of deaths among children under five.

Nutrition:
 
PSI promotes both maternal and child health through its folio of nutrition activities. Through provision of iron folic acid tablets to mothers, and multivitamins and micronutrient-fortified food supplements- known as Sprinkles- for children, PSI has averted more than one million DALYs.  Accounting for more than 2/3 of this impact is iron folic acid tablets which reduce maternal anemia, having a lifesaving impact during and immediately following childbirth. The multivitamins and Sprinkles promote healthy development by supporting a robust immune system while preventing blindness and cognition losses.
 
Reproductive Health:

In 2010, PSI prevented more than 4 million unintended pregnancies and more than 20,000 maternal deaths by forging public and private sector partnerships to expand access to contraceptive methods, and prevent post-partum hemorrhage, sepsis, and unsafe abortion.