E4A is supporting an innovative community-based initiative that aims to improve Maternal and Neonatal Health (MNH) by creating accountability at the health facility and district level using an innovative mHealth data collection system.
The MamaYe assessments and scorecards are an approach to managing the performance of health facilities through the involvement of key health system stakeholders and members of the community.The scorecards can be used to elicit social and public accountability and thereby increase the responsiveness of service providers and assist districts in targeting quality improvement efforts.Through the scorecards mechanism, providers are able to assess their performance and learn about their communities’ views on the MNH services.
The MamaYe assessments will be conducted on a bi-annual basis in E4A focal districts and the results and follow up actions will be discussed during stakeholder interface meetings - to ensure evidence is used for decision-making.In the framework of the Evidence for Action Project, the focus will be to improve quality of care of MNH services by strengthening the feedback between communities, health facilities, DHMTs and district administration.The scorecard mechanism focus on monitoring and reporting on the enabling environment for Comprehensive and Basic Emergency Obstetric Care (EmONC), including facility infrastructure and equipment (readiness to provide signal functions), and client perspectives on quality of care.
Finally, to ensure public dissemination of basic results, a bi-annual scorecard will be produced for each facility and district with the data from the assessments.An independent assessment team will be trained to carry out the scorecard assessment at the selected facilities in each of the eight focal districts. The facility assessment can be done in conjunction with the normal supervisory visits conducted by District Health Management Teams (DHMTs).They involve community representatives to make the assessment more transparent, help communities understand the challenges providers face within their facility, and ultimately to encourage community involvement in facility improvements.
The assessment is an innovative way to conduct facility supervision.The scorecard tool offers the possibility to electronically measure facility readiness and benchmark district facilities in comparison to one another. The aim is to encourage community and facilities to partner together to improve the quality of care and facility conditions vis-à -vis their neighbouring facilities in the district.
