nine month activity report 2016 - amazon s3...> gender-based violence response services will be...

Nine month activity report 2016

WAHA - WOMEN AND HEALTH ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL

Working together to improve healthamong disadvantaged communities

Women and Health Alliance Internationalnine month report

2016

1

# Introduction 3

#1 Activities by thematic focus 4

Helping refugees and IDPs 4 Middle East 4 European refugee crisis 7 Africa 8

Infectious diseases 9 Ebola Virus Disease 9 Zika 9

Maternal and child health care 10

#2 Activities by country

Iraq 4 Syria 5Turkey 6Lebanon 6 Greece 7Serbia 8 Slovenia 8Ethiopia 8-11Guinea 9-10 Liberia 9-12Grenada 9-10 DR Congo 10 Chad 10 Kenya 11Mozambique 12South Sudan 12Zimbabwe 12


2016

3

# IntroductionOur work in 2016 demonstrates WAHA’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that the most vulnerable populations, including those in humanitarian crises and women and children, have access to quality health services.

Due to the ongoing insecurity in the Middle East, a key focus of our work in 2016 has been to respond to the medical and psycho-social support needs of vulnerable refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host populations in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey.

We continued our efforts in responding to the ‘European Refugee Crisis’ by providing primary health care to refugees as they enter Europe via the Greek islands, and throughout their journey to Central Europe, via Slovenia and Serbia. With the closing of the “Balkan Route” and the EU-Turkey agreement preventing further mass arrivals of refugees to Greece, and hindering the refugees’ onwards journey, the health needs of the refugees have evolved but the demand remains substantial.

We are currently implementing partners of UNHCR in Greece to ensure the provision of basic health services to the refugees who arrive on the Greek Islands of Chios, Lesbos, Kos, and Leros, while also providing psychological support to survivors of violence. We equally work to fulfill the health needs of refugees in Northern Greece, near Thessaloniki.

We also worked with UNHCR in Serbia and are working for UNICEF in Slovenia to ensure the well-being of refugees and in particular that of women and children.

Throughout the year we continued our work in Sub-Saharan Africa with regards ensuring essential reproductive health services to women throughout the region. In West Africa, we continued supporting Guinea and Liberia in overcoming the Ebola virus outbreak. Taking into account the lessons learned from our interventions in West Africa during the Ebola Crisis regarding infectious disease prevention, detection, and management, we supported Grenada regarding its response to the Zika virus.

• In Iraq, we provide emergency health services including reproductive health care to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the host populations in the areas newly liberated from ISIL. We are also integrating activities to respond to cases of gender-based violence given the urgent needs in this domain. We collaborate with the World Health Organization and UNFPA to implement our projects in Iraq.

• In Syria, we provide urgently needed health services to the vulnerable populations who have fled Aleppo towards the Turkish border.

• In Lebanon, we provide health services for Syrian refugees and vulnerable host populations in the Bekaa Valley.

• In Turkey, we ensure access to health services, including psychosocial services, for women and children in Izmir and Istanbul, and we also support the overall integration of Syrian refugees into Turkish society by offering language courses and administrative support. In Izmir, we are conducting operational research to investigate the best ways to prevent gender-based violence.


2016

4

Iraq The occupation by ISIL deprived the local populations of even the most basic health services, and health infrastructure was often looted and destroyed by ISIL upon their retreat. The ongoing fight against ISIL has provoked mass internal displacement which further increases the pressure on an already extremely weak health system. After having conducted exploratory assessments in 2015, WAHA started to provide essential health services to host and IDP populations in regions freed from ISIL in 2016.

Our programs in the area have started thanks to funding from the Crisis Center of the French Foreign Ministry. Having gradually expanded, WAHA is currently providing the following basic and reproductive health services in Iraq:

We expect that the programs in Iraq will continue to rapidly expand over the remaining months in 2016 and through 2017 in response to the immense needs in the area.

> A primary and reproductive health care unit that is available 24/7 including a delivery room in Snuny Hospital, Sinjar mountains, Governorate of Ninewah, North District of Snuny in partnership with UNFPA;

> A container-based primary health center in Sardeshti, Sinjar mountains area, Governorate of Ninewah;

> Primary health and reproductive health care units including a delivery room in Qadya IDPs camp, Governorate of Dohuk, District of Sumil;

> A reproductive health care unit including labor room within Debaga city, Governorate of Ninewah, District of Makhmur in partnership with UNFPA;

> One mobile clinic in Depaga camp – Depaga village Makhmour district;

> Provision of primary health services including basic reproductive health care in Al-Hajjaj Camp (Silo), and preparations to establish a delivery room in the same camp - Salah Al Dine Governorate;

> A Primary Health Center in Jhela village – Qayyara district (West bank of Tigris River) in partnership with UNFPA and WHO;

> A mobile clinic in the villages surrounding Jhela village that provides primary and reproductive health care services), Qayyara district – Ninawa governorate, in partnership with UNFPA and WHO;

> A primary health clinic in Haj Ali villages with reproductive healthcare services – East bank of Tigris River, – Ninawa governorate, in partnership with UNFPA and WHO;

> Running ambulances in Haj Ali villages and Jhela region, Ninawa governorate, in partnership with UNFPA and WHO;

> A primary health clinic in Qayyara town, providing primary care, including reproductive healthcare services, Qayyara district- Ninawa governorate, in partnership with UNFPA

> Gender-based violence response services will be integrated within the above programs with support from UNFPA

Helping refugees and displaced people: Support in the Middle East

#1 Activities by thematic focus


2016

5

> In 2016, WAHA International started a medical emergency support program for the population fleeing Aleppo, providing essential health services to the populations of the villages and camps next to the city of Azaz, in the province of Aleppo, near the Turkish border and Harim district, Idlib governorate.

> We have built up a network of mobile clinics that move daily to serve the biggest possible catchment population. In these clinics we provide general basic health services to the internally displaced populations (IDPs), as well as to the host populations. The clinics initially provided health care services near Azaz and have now moved to serve five locations in Harim district Idlib governorate (Abo Talha, Kademoun, Jabal Harem, Safsafah and Kafar Houm). WAHA’s mobile clinics provided 1,261 consultations in September, and 1,322 consultations in August.

> We support two local health centers with medications in Bab-Alnour and Mu’az Abu Medhi.

> A pediatric clinic; located in Sheikh Yousef village, Armanaz sub district, Harim district, Idli governorate was launched in May 2016. It provides more than 600 pediatric consultations per month.

> WAHA provides basic health services, including reproductive health care in Delbya primary health centre; which is located in Delbya village, close to Delbya camp in Harim district, Idlib governorate. We provided 1,183 consultations in September, and 1,304 in August.

> We are also running a gynecological clinic; located in Sheikh Yousef village, Armanaz sub district, Harim district, Idlib governorate since August 2016.

Syria The ongoing war in Syria continues to cause tremendous suffering among the population, leading to substantial internal displacement of extremely vulnerable populations. At the end of 2015, WAHA International launched an exploratory mission in Syria and implemented current programs based on its findings in collaboration with the Syrian Expatriate Medical Association (SEMA) and the French Foreign Ministry.


2016

6

> WAHA International’s activities in Lebanon aim to ensure high quality and free of charge medical services to Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese persons, especially women and children without adequate health coverage, in West Bekaa.

> We are working to enable Gazze Primary Health Center to start providing basic health services. We have carried out refurbishment works, and will support the health center with provision of equipment, medications and supplies. We will also ensure adequate staffing for this primary health care facility.

Lebanon

The UNHCR estimates that around 1.5 million people from Syria have fled to Lebanon, and are in need of basic health services. The crisis also largely impacts the local population especially the most vulnerable, including women and children, as health services are not able to meet the increased demands of the host and IDP populations.

> With our local Turkish partner, the Relief Society for Syrian Refugees, and support from the French Foreign Ministry, we opened a socio-medical center in Izmir in March 2016 where we welcome more than 150 women and children per week. We offer psychological and general health services, and also provide social support and language lessons to facilitate the refugees’ integration into Turkish society.

> Medical screenings have been organized in poor neighborhoods of Izmir with large Syrian refugee populations and our doctors have screened more than 2,000 children since the end of May 2016, as well as distributing toothbrushes, toothpastes and anti-lice shampoo.

> WAHA conducted formative research funded by the Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF) to assess the risk of GBV among Syrian adolescents and young women, and to develop and pilot test a GBV response intervention using SMS messaging.

> The World Bank has funded WAHA International to conduct research to understand the underlying causes of intimate-partner violence among Syrian refugees in Izmir, and to identify innovative interventions to address this issue.

> In Istanbul we organized medical screenings with a local organization in 20 schools and work in partnership with a Syrian medical center to provide treatment. 3,000 children received treatment since the end of May.

Turkey Nearly three million refugees are currently in Turkey, mainly from Syria and Iraq but also from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan. WAHA’s activities in Turkey initially focused on Izmir, a coastal town in proximity to the Greek islands, and have now expanded to encompass Istanbul, while Gaziantep is our coordination point for our activities in Syria.


2016

7

> As the official health-implementing partner of UNHCR on the Greek islands, we continue ensuring the refugees’ access to basic health services and ensure a referral system to secondary health care on the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Kos and Leros as well as Samos where activities stopped on March 31.

> We have also established a psychosocial support team that responds to cases of gender based violence in Chios, Kos and Leros.

> On the shores of Chios, a boat-based ambulance ensured the provision of life-saving health care for refugees upon their entry into Greek waters, until refugee numbers dropped significantly.

> From January to July, WAHA worked in Athens to provide primary health care to refugees in the refugee camps of Elliniko 2 and Elliniko 3 and Eleonas.

> Since June 2016, WAHA has been working as an ECHO subgrantee in the north of Greece to provide primary health care and ensure a referral system to secondary health services.

> We organised the donation of blankets and other essential items to refugee children and their families.

Greece

Until March 2016, refugees mostly passed through Greece on their journey to Central and Northern Europe. As they can no longer travel onward, a still growing number of refugees finds themselves stranded on the Greek islands and on the mainland. WAHA provides health and psychosocial support services to this extremely vulnerable population and has conducted 41,168 consultations for the refugee population in Greece since January 2016.

In the first months of 2016, large numbers of refugees continued to arrive on the Greek islands and travelled through

the “Balkan Route” to reach Central and Northern Europe. With the closing of the “Balkan Route” and the

implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement, there has been a substantial reduction in the number of refugees

arrivals in Greece. Refugees now find themselves stranded, whereas, before they were in transit, and this has had

major implications on their health needs and the interventions that are most needed. The host country’s health

systems are not yet able to respond to the refugee’s health and psychosocial needs.

Support of the “European Refugee Crisis”


2016

8

Refugees in Africa

Serbia

Slovenia

Ethiopia

In 2015, Serbia was one of the main transiting points for refugees on their way to Northern and Central Europe. WAHA International has been present in Serbia since September 2015, providing health services to refugees and support to mothers with small children notably in Miksaliste, Belgrade, Horgos, Sid, Presevo and Dimitrovgrad.

Slovenia became a central transit country for refugees who were travelling through the Balkans. In view of the unmet healthcare needs of the refugees, WAHA International joined forces with local NGOs to provide an adequate response.

The Dollo Ado refugee camps in Ethiopia are the second largest refugee camps in the world. WAHA International has been supporting the health needs of the Somalian refugees in the camps of Dollo Ado between 2013 and 2015 with funding from the U.S. State Department.

> From January to June 2016 we served as the health-implementing partner of UNHCR in Serbia. We ran two clinics (in Dimitrovgrad and Sid) which provided medical assistance to 5,184 refugees.

> In September we organised the donation of blankets and other essential items to refugee children and their families.

> Until spring 2016, WAHA International provided medical care and relief services for refugees in Slovenia at the locations of Dobava, Livarna and Šentilj.

> Since May 2016, WAHA began working with UNICEF to respond to the specific healthcare needs of children and mothers of infants among the refugee population of the two main asylum centers of Slovenia.

> In 2016, we began developing an innovative intervention targeting intimate partner violence (IPV) among the refugee population of Dollo Ado, delivered in the context of a cultural or community practice.


2016

9

GuineaWAHA International had been strengthening reproductive healthcare in Guinea since

2011, but with the resurgence of the Ebola epidemic in western Africa in 2014, a swift

response was required, as Guinea was one of the countries worst hit by the virus. We

expanded our activities and ensured emergency Ebola response mechanisms and

supported and strengthened the national health system.

> In support of the National Ebola Response Coordination, and with funding from USAID/OFDA, WAHA International continued supporting the local health system in coping with the Ebola outbreak and strengthening its preparedness for future disease outbreaks. We worked in 20 primary and secondary health facilities to improve Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) through the provision of

training, equipment and supplies, with ongoing mentoring and supportive supervision.

> We also worked in partnership with Expertise France to strengthen general hygiene at two central regional hospitals, the main hospitals of Boké and Forecariah.

Response to infectious diseases: Ebola

Response to infectious diseases: Zika

Liberia

Grenada

WAHA International ensured clinical case

management at Voinjama Ebola Treatment Unit

(ETU), Lofa County in north-eastern Liberia, close to

the border of Guinea between January 2015 and its

decommissioning in November 2015.

WAHA International started working in Grenada in 2016.

In February 2016, the World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the rapid spread of the Zika virus in the Americas. In response, WAHA dedicated its efforts to ensuring preparedness and management of the disease.

> In support of the transition plan of the Liberian Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization to include Ebola case management within routine health services, we supported four local hospitals (Tellewoyan, Zorzor, Foya & Kolahun) by training their staff and establishing safe triage and patient management systems. This support was made possible thanks to USAID/OFDA funding.

> We supported the Grenadian Ministry of Health to develop its Zika virus prevention and early detection strategy and jointly deployed an Integrated Vector Management Strategy as a proactive and targeted intervention.

> We continue to closely monitor the virus’ development, as well as its impact on the health of the most vulnerable women through ongoing surveillance activites.


2016

10

Chad

Democratic Republic of CongoWAHA International began providing obstetric fistula repair services in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2015.

WAHA International has been supporting reproductive health and providing obstetric care in Chad since 2011.

> We continue providing regular obstetric fistula treatment to women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country where the UNFPA estimates that 40,000 women live with obstetric fistula.

> We continue supporting the National Sexual Health and Fistula Repair Centre (CSRRF) in N’Djamena as well as Abeche Hospital in Ouaddaï Region in Eastern Chad. At both locations we support ongoing high quality fistula care, ensuring that we reach a high proportion of women who need these services.

Guinea Grenada

WAHA International has been working in Guinea since 2011, supporting reproductive health including obstetric fistula care services.

WAHA International started working in Grenada in 2016.

> We continue providing regular high quality obstetric fistula operations at the Ignace Deen Hospital and at the Centre Médico Social Djigui Espoir in Conakry.

> In 2016 we provided specialized pediatric surgery for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Maternal and Child Health Care


2016

11

Ethiopia

Kenya

WAHA International has been working in Ethiopia since 2009, developing programs to

strengthen reproductive health. This includes supporting the treatment of obstetric fistula in

the university hospitals of Gondar, Jimma and Assela as well as increasing the capacity of the

local health staff, notably midwives, in the provision of reproductive health services. We

have also implemented a program to improve the reproductive health care offered to Somali

refugees in the southeast of the country in three Dollo Ado refugee camps.

WAHA International has been present in Kenya since 2009, where it is involved in the fight

to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. Since February 2015, we have been conducting

a 4-year project that aims to reduce maternal and infant morbidity and mortality in the

informal settlement of Machafuko in Mombasa. This project’s activities help to increase the

uptake of quality maternal and child health services and enhance the nutrition status of

young children and pregnant mothers.

> We continued operating women with obstetric fistula and other pelvic floor disorders in our treatment services in Asella, Gondar and Jimma, benefiting hundreds of women each year.

> WAHA also continued its program of survivors of obstetric fistula to reintegrate within their community through establishing a craftwork skills center in Gondar.

> WAHA continued strengthening the maternal health system of Ethiopia’s central region of Arsi, through training midwives and refurbishing and equipping rural health structures. We also continued running a call centre, which provides advice about best practices in reproductive health care to midwives.

> In 2016, we provided essential equipment to the two primary health facilities that serve Machafuko’s population and provided training and support to its health staff in collaboration with the Midwives Chapter of the National Nurses Association of Kenya.

> We established an ambulance-based referral system for obstetric emergencies.

> In partnership with our local project partner “Coast Women in Development”, we have been carrying out community outreach work to increase knowledge of best practice in mother and child health and increase uptake of professional health services.

> We have also been developing a mobile phone-based health information system that aims to evolve the current practice of community health workers to document their work using paper registers and will thus allow them to better document their work, while empowering them to better respond to the communities’ health needs.


2016

12

Mozambique

Liberia

After the visit of a delegation from the national health authorities of Mozambique to our office in

Ethiopia with the desire to discuss fistula response strategies, WAHA aims to establish a new obstetric

fistula care project in Mozambique.

WAHA started activities in Liberia in response to the Ebola virus outbreak. We expanded our focus and added obstetric fistula treatment to our Liberian activities.

> A delegation from WAHA International travelled to Mozambique this summer for meetings with the national health authorities in order to prepare to establish a regular obstetric fistula program.

> We continued supporting fistula care at the Family Medical Center in Monrovia, and expanded fistula care to Phebe Hospital in Bong Country.

South SudanWAHA has been supporting obstetric care and comprehensive obstetric fistula services in South Sudan since 2011.

> Increased political instability lead us to temporarily put our obstetric fistula treatment program on hold. However, we are on stand-by in order to restart this program as soon as the security situation allows.

ZimbabweWAHA International has been working in Zimbabwe since 2013, supporting the development of high quality obstetric fistula care services.

> We continue to provide quality fistula care to women in Zimbabwe who are living with obstetric fistula. Having expanded our program in 2016 to three hospitals, two in the capital and one 80 miles further inland, we have increased the number of operations we can provide.

WOMEN AND HEALTHALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL

nine month activity report 2016 - amazon s3...> gender-based violence response services will be...

Documents