• Country Overview
• Highlights
• Current Projects
• Past Projects

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

Senegal has a population of 10 million people, with an average population growth of 3% (July 2000 estimate). The total fertility rate (TFR) is 5.21, and the modern contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) is estimated at 10.5% (1999 interim DHS). As in many African countries, the population is young, with 45% below the age of 15. Infant mortality remains high at 58 deaths per 1,000 births. The maternal mortality rate is 510 per 100,000.

CCP has been working in Senegal since 1987. During the transition phase (1997-2000) between 2 USAID cooperative agreements, CCP, under the PCS IV project worked with and through Senegal's National Family Planning Programme (PNPF) to support USAID's key intermediate results which included increasing access to and demand for improved quality MCH/FP/STD/HIV-AIDS services in the regions of Kaolack, Fatick, and Louga, and only HIV/AIDS interventions in Dakar and Thiès Regions.

In June 2000, Management Sciences for Health (MSH) as prime contractor responsible for service delivery and health system management, The Futures Group International (TFGI) for advocacy, and JHU CCP for Behavior Change Communication (BCC) began implementation of a five-year Cooperative Agreement with USAID to improve Maternal Health and Family Planning services. The MH/FP project aims to improve the management of maternal health and FP services at community, district, and national levels. It gives particular attention to developing local systems for monitoring and management. The project also focuses on designing behavior change communication interventions, with an emphasis on advocacy and social mobilization to promote high quality reproductive health services. The project operates in 21 USAID districts.

The Senegal MH/FP project responds to USAID's strategic objective 3: Increased and sustainable use of reproductive health services in the context of decentralization in targeted areas of Senegal. The project's main objectives are to:

• Improve and sustain access to quality child survival, maternal health, family planning and STI/HIV/AIDS services,
• Increase demand for quality child survival, maternal health, family planning and STI/HIV/AIDS services.

The MH/FP team will reach these objectives mainly by (i) strengthening the health system through provider and community health worker training and motivation, and logistics and information management to establish comprehensive health services (referred to as Fully Functional Service Delivery Points-FFSDPs), and by (ii) generating demand among the community through mass-media and community-based activities. Both supply and demand strategies will be supported by strong policy and leadership advocacy to achieve local involvement in and commitment (political and financial) to increased used of quality RH services.

HIGHLIGHTS

Activities under the MH/FP project started only about a year ago. Recent BCC highlights include:

• RH radio programs in the districts of Kaolack, Thiès, Louga: 1,207 broadcasts of radio spots on RH, 105 broadcasts of "Yen Bu Diss," a 16 episode -soap opera on men's involvement in their family's health; 165 broadcasts of a documentary on Islam and FP; 25 broadcasts of shows on safe motherhood and preventing malaria in pregnant women in Louga.
• Traditional BCC materials (songs and poems) contest on safe motherhood and other RH topics in the district of Kaolack. More than 1,000 youth and young adults participated in the final phase of the contest in December 2001.
• Interpersonal communication activities. Group discussions, video viewing… on MH and FP in the district of Kaolack reached nearly 4,000 women from community nutrition centers, women's groups and literacy classes.

CURRENT PROJECTS

• Radio Distance Learning Programme for Community Health Workers
  Laxassayu Ngir Wèr Gi Yaram (Working together for a better health) is a 26-episode radio programme on various CS, RH, and BCC topics. Three first episodes are finalized and ready for production and pre-test.

• Quality Project: Golden Bridge
  To ensure increased demand for services, the Golden Bridge (a quality accreditation project) is being piloted in two districts to improve quality of services both from the providers' and community's perspectives.

PAST PROJECTS

During the USAID transition phase in Senegal (1997-2000), CCP implemented the following major interventions:

• "Yen BU Diis" (Heavy Burden) Radio Drama
  This 16-episode radio drama series was broadcast to encourage men to become involved in their family's health. The series covered FP, child survival, adolescents' health, and STI/HIV/AIDS.

• Advocacy and BCC project with Islamic religious leaders
  Religious leaders were trained in FP IPC/C to help them discuss modern FP with their constituents. Trained religious leaders held radio talks and community conferences on FP, and BCC materials were produced for distribution to religious leaders.

• Youth hotline pilot project in Kaolack
  A telephone counseling hotline was established to provide youth with confidential RH information. Youth hotline counselors were trained; forms were designed for call monitoring, referrals, and hotline operations. An income-generating project (telecenter offering paid telephone services) was also developed to help sustain hotline activities (motivation for counselors, hotline bills).