The CAPA Handbook: A "How-to" Guide for Implementing ... - basics

PREFACE
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report State of the World’s Children 2003
ranked Nigeria 14th worst in the world for child mortality, with 110 infant and 183 under-five
deaths per 1,000 live births. Malaria, diarrhoea, measles, and pneumonia accounted for 70% of
those deaths, and more than 60% of the total
suffered underlying malnutrition.
FACTS ON CHILD HEALTH IN NIGERIA
Maternal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria,
where 45,000 mothers die in childbirth per
year, is exceeded only by India and Ethiopia.
In the parts of northern Nigeria, the maternal
mortality rate was estimated to be more than
2,400 per 100,000 live births.
Large-scale attempts to improve child survival • % of deaths with underlying malnutrition: 60%
in Nigeria have generally been government or
donor efforts focused on vaccine-preventable diseases, diarrhea, malaria, and acute respiratory
infections. Globally, such initiatives have also strived to improve health systems to enhance their
abilities to provide appropriate services. Many of these country programs enjoyed considerable
initial success, but the gains were eventually eroded by institutional apathy and/or loss of
external support.
Experience has shown that the impact of programs to improve maternal and child health is
greater when the community plays an active role in planning the interventions and participating
in the implementation process. Basic Support for
Institutionalizing Child Survival/Nigeria (BASICS II/N),
in collaboration with Nigeria’s Federal and State
governments, conceptualized and designed a
community-based approach (CBA) called Catchment
Area Planning and Action (CAPA) to empower
community members to take an active role in improving
the health of their children. CAPA’s approach places the
• Global rank in child mortality: 14 th worst
• Infant mortality: 110 per 1,000 live births
• Under-5 mortality: 183 per 1,000 live births
• % of deaths caused by malaria, diarrhoea,
measles, and pneumonia (preventable
diseases): 70%
CATCHMENT AREA PLANNING AND
ACTION (CAPA):
A community-based approach to
empower communities to take an
active role in improving the health of
their children.
locus of health program development at the community level with the intent of creating
community ownership, promoting public and private sector partnerships, and stimulating
demand.
A catchment area is the geographic area served by a
particular Primary Health Center (PHC) and consists of
a geographically proximate community of people with
common concerns and needs. The community’s size and
shape is defined by shared interests, the presence of
essential services and institutions, and the need to
CATCHMENT AREA:
The geographic area served by a
particular Primary Health Center
(PHC) consisting of geographically
proximate community of people with
common concerns and needs.
v