©Hadrien Bonnaud/UNICEF

By decision endorsed by the Steering Committee of the French Muskoka Fund in March 2020, chaired by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Burkina Faso was officially introduced into the Muskoka mechanism aimed at improving the maternal, newborn, child, adolescent and youth health in the Center, Center-Est, Hauts Bassins and Center-Nord regions.

The inclusion of Burkina Faso in the Muskoka mechanism has two main frameworks:

– a governance framework defining the coordination mechanism (role, function, accountability of each organ)

– a programmatic framework determining the activities and deliverables expected from 2021.

The national coordinating committee (bringing together all expert advisers in Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent and Nutrition Health (SRMNIA-Nut) from United Nations agencies and relevant ministries as well as the global health advisor from the French Embassy) has the mandate to define the work plan on the basis of the country’s priorities in connection with the programmatic orientations defined by the regional technical committee, to ensure its operational implementation, to carry out monitoring and monitoring of activities that will be reported annually to the regional level.

In 2020, the programmatic framework planned for Burkina Faso mainly focuses on technical support structured around the analysis of national needs and bottlenecks, and the identification of programmatic needs with the existing coordination bodies.

This analysis will allow the identification of programmatic priorities and high impact interventions to be carried out from 2021 by the French Muskoka Fund.

©Hadrien Bonnaud/UNICEF

L’inclusion du Burkina Faso dans le mécanisme Muskoka comporte deux cadres principaux :

–  un cadre de gouvernance définissant le mécanisme de coordination (rôle, fonction, redevabilité de chacun des organes)
– un cadre programmatique déterminant les activités et des livrables attendus à partir de 2021.

Le comité de coordination national (réunissant tous les conseillers experts en Santé de la reproduction, maternelle, néonatale, infantile, des adolescents et la nutrition (SRMNIA-Nut) des agences des Nations Unies et des ministères concernés ainsi que le conseiller en santé mondiale de l’Ambassade de France) a pour mandat de définir le plan de travail sur la base des priorités du pays en lien avec les orientations programmatiques définies par le comité technique régional, d’en assurer sa mise en place opérationnelle, d’effectuer un monitorage et un suivi des activités qui seront remontés annuellement au niveau régional.

En 2020, le cadre programmatique prévu pour le Burkina Faso se concentre principalement sur un appui technique s’articulant autour de l’analyse des besoins nationaux et des goulots d’étranglement, et de l’identification des besoins programmatiques avec les instances de coordination existantes.

Cette analyse permettra l’identification des priorités programmatiques et des interventions à haut impact à réaliser à partir de 2021 par le Fonds Français Muskoka.

Equitable access to qualified health care staff

A labor market and return on investment analysis in Côte d’Ivoire has demonstrated the relevance of increasing expenditure on health care staff to the Ivorian economy. A 1% increase in expenditure on the health workforce would lead to a 2.5% rise in average household revenue, with a 1.89% growth in employment and a 3.2% increase in GDP.
The impact of this investment on job creation would be 2.14% for men and 1.63% for women. Thanks to these studies and subsequent advocacy, the Côte d’Ivoire government agreed to create 21,753 additional health jobs by 2022, in particular to meet the health service needs of mothers, children and adolescents.

Essential drugs: accessibility, quality, rationality

The French Muskoka Fund has helped national quality control laboratories in Côte d’Ivoire prepare for the WHO Prequalification Programme.
With the help of the French Muskoka Fund, the country has also reviewed its treatment protocols to improve the quality of treatment for mothers and children.

Community-based family planning

Responses to crisis situations

The Lake Chad region is experiencing a humanitarian crisis, and has seen its already worrying maternal health indicators deteriorate rapidly. Working in complementarity with other partners as part of the “All4LakeChad” campaign, the FFM has helped fund interventions to manage refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees in three Chad health districts (Bol, Baga-Sola and Liwa). The strategies put in place included deploying 160 midwives and 3 gynecologists in health centers and hospitals, providing equipment and reproductive health products and getting traditional and religious leaders involved.
During the campaign, attendance at health training courses rose by 69%.