TITLE:
Transforming Health Facilities into Mother-Baby Friendly Centers: Experience of World Vision, East African Maternal Newborn and Child Health Project in Kitgum District, Uganda, 2016
AUTHORS:
Babughirana Geoffrey, Musasizi Benon, Lorna Muhirwe Barungi, Andrew Tumuhameho, Tushemerirwe Florence, Twaha Rwegyema
KEYWORDS:
Baby Friendly Health Facility Initiative, Health Worker Mentorship and Coaching, Transformation of Health Facilities, Health System’s Strengthening
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.3 No.12,
December
26,
2016
ABSTRACT: The Baby Friendly Health facility Initiative (BFHI) is a health care environment which supports, protects and promotes breastfeeding as a norm. The World Vision Uganda East African Maternal Newborn and Child Health (EAMNCH) project supported its implementation with a focus on the Transformation of 24 health facilities into Mother-Baby Friendly in Kitgum district. Four (4) out of twelve (12) health facilities that participated in the external assessment scored 75% and above, and this is the required minimum score for a health facility to be certified as Baby Friendly. The four are: St Joseph’s Hospital (81%), Orom HCiii (75%), Loborom HCiii (75%), and Akilok HCiii (75%). From the findings, it’s recommended that health facilities should actively engage the Village Health Teams (VHTs) in their catchment areas to strengthen Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) community support to strengthen community-health facility linkages.