Refining District-Level Interventions to Strengthen Health Systems in Bangladesh

The MaMoni Health Systems Strengthening Activity (MaMoni HSS), a four-year award (2013-2017) implemented by Jhpiego and Save the Children, builds on the success of previous USAID projects. The project's goal is to expand access to, and utilization of, integrated maternal, newborn and child health, nutrition, and family planning services by scaling up evidence-based practices that have been applied and tested in Bangladesh. The project also leverages the success of these interventions, strategically partnering with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) and other partners at the national level to strengthen health systems in Bangladesh. Guided by a clear theory of change, MaMoni HSS used evidence from performance evaluations and other assessments during the initial years of the project to identify key areas for improvement. The technical evidence collected by the MaMoni HSS team included baseline data from a household survey, Management Information Systems (MIS) data, and district-level situational analyses, and a health systems gap analysis to better understand needs regarding health facilities, the health workforce, and quality of health services. After thorough analysis and a series of consultations between USAID, its implementing partners, and other external stakeholders, the MaMoni HSS team adjusted their approach to focus more on national health systems strengthening and maximize the impact of project resources. Using a two-pronged approach that split target areas into high-intensity intervention areas and health system capacity strengthening areas, MaMoni HSS was able to successfully expand access to key MNCH/N/FP interventions and also effectively advocate for important policy-level changes on a national scale.