national reproductive health strategy - Ministry of Public Health ...

National Reproductive Health Strategy (2012–2016)IMPLEMENTATIONAction PlansThis strategy serves as a roadmap to arrive at the RH status that the Ministry of Health wishes toachieve. Once approved, more detailed planning will take place. An overall implementation plan willbe developed for the Directorate at national level, which will indicate what actions will take place inwhat general time frame and which units will be responsible for them. Each unit within the RHD willalso develop an annual work plan that will identify in further detail the actions to be undertaken bythat particular unit during the course of that year.Provincial Public Health Offices will develop their provincial implementation plans in consultationwith their implementing NGO partners, using the national strategy as a starting point. These planswill be negotiated with the RHD to ensure that they are comprehensive and that they contribute tothe achievement of overall goals. Implementing NGO partners will in turn develop their own annualaction plans to contribute to the achievement of the provincial plans.Advocacy and SupportAdvocacy is a significant component of this strategy. Achieving strategic objectives in areas such asSTIs, infertility, obstetric fistulae, breast and cervical cancer, RH in emergency situations, genderissues, nutrition, IEC/BCC, quality assurance and RH research will be accomplished primarily throughadvocacy with the key ministry departments, other ministries, funding agencies, implementing NGOsand other partners, since the RHD does not exercise decision-making control over these areas, nordoes it have funds for them. RHD will identify members of its staff to serve as focal points for each ofthe critical areas over which it does not have direct control. These staff members will be responsiblefor promoting their area and advocating with the appropriate ministry or agency to achieve desiredoutcomes. They may also create joint committees or task forces representing all the concernedagencies in order to move the strategy ahead.Information DisseminationMany of the approaches in this strategy require that strategy implementers at all levels of thesystem develop new skills, and that recipients of services become increasingly aware of their ownhealth needs and the services that are available to respond to them. For this reason, a major activityat the national level will be to collaborate with the IEC Department and other partners to produceeffective messages in areas such as STIs, cancer, gender and nutrition. The RHD will also collaboratewith its bilateral and international partner agencies to develop LRPs for doctors, midwives, CHWs,CHSs, FHAGs in order to equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to successfullyimplement the strategy.Building CapacityBuilding capacity at the community level will be a major focus of this strategy, so that communitieswill become equipped to meet many of their own reproductive health needs. The RHD willencourage the Provincial Reproductive Health Officers PRHO) to collaborate with the implementingNGO partners to make sure that this capacity-building occurs. At the same time, the RHD willcollaborate in the development of much of the support material that will be needed to strengthencommunity-level reproductive health services.Page 35