Health in 2006
The overall purpose of the health programme is to facilitate the development of sustainable primary health care systems and practices through government and community mechanisms.
The health programme consists of three main areas of activity, reproductive
and child health; environmental health; water and sanitation and nutrition.
During 2006 activities were undertaken in 25 countries. In total approximately 2.8 million people benefited directly from our health programmes while an estimated 6 million benefited indirectly.
The programme covers a diverse range of activities, some of these are illustrated below:
- Reproductive and child health programmes were implemented in Bangladesh,
Burundi, DPR Korea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Lao, Niger, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sudan, and Sierra Leone. Activities and strategies included: rehabilitation or improvement of basic health services, upgrade of health facility, staff capacity building, drugs and equipment provision, logistic support and improvement of health management; demand creation for health services: health promotion, mobilisation, campaigns, improving preventative and care seeking practices; and policy advocacy. Even though difficult to calculate, overall more than 1 million people were directly and close to 3 million people were indirectly reached. The beneficiaries were mainly women of reproductive age and children belowthe age of 5 years. - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burundi, DPR Korea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Liberia, Nepal,
Niger, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Timor Leste, and Uganda,
are implementing programmes for improved environmental health, water
and sanitation. Activities and strategies included: water source rehabilitation
or construction, latrine construction, water management, community based water
committees; hygiene and sanitation; improvement of knowledge, attitudes and practices; community sensitisation and mobilisation; training of both government bodies and local communities, including schools, also using PHAST (participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation) training. Overall more than 176,000 people benefited directly and 336,000 people were indirectly reached. - Bangladesh, Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Timor Leste implemented nutrition programmes. Activities and strategies included: Community Therapeutic Care (CTC) and therapeutic feeding: establishment of supplementary feeding sites, outpatient treatment centres and stabilisation centres; partnering and capacity building of staff and governmental institutions with a view to handing over the activities at some stage. The numbers of direct beneficiaries are close to one million people and almost 2.85 million people were indirectly reached. The direct beneficiaries were mainly children under the age of five years and pregnant and lactating women.
Concern's Child Survival programme continued in three countries, Bangladesh, Haiti and Rwanda. These programmes focus on the primary burdens of mortality being maternal and newborn care, acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea, and malnutrition. Over 596,000 women of reproductive age and children under five benefited from this programme using proven low cost interventions.
