The Kuboresha Afya Mitaani: Urban Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) program integrates typically siloed actors in the quality-of-care space to create a ‘quality ecosystem’ in the informal settlements of Mathare and Kawangware. This includes women, families, communities, facilities and their providers, health regulators, and actors in sanitation and air pollution. This project is being implemented over three years with funding from USAID’s Health Research Program. The target populations are pregnant women, postpartum women, children up to the age of one, and associated households and communities living in informal settlements.
The program is expected to affect the lives of 60,000 mothers and children. It will work with both public and private facilities that provide MNCH services in the target areas, collaborating with the Nairobi Metropolitan Services and focusing on the care-seeking period that extends from pregnancy until the baby’s first birthday. This period features the highest risk of sickness and death for mothers and infants. Global data shows that 88 percent of maternal deaths occur in the period between pregnancy and 42 days after delivery. Additionally, most under-5 deaths in Kenya occur in the first year of life, making it a critical period for health implementation strategies and promotion of vaccine coverage.
