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Delivery of nutrition services in health systems in sub-Saharan Africa: opportunities in Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Niger

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Rachel D Hampshire ,
Victor M Aguayo ,
Hamani Harouna ,
Julie A Roley ,
Ann Tarini  and
Shawn K Baker
Rachel D Hampshire*
Affiliation:
Helen Keller International, BP 8150 Ouagadougou 04, BurkinaFaso
Victor M Aguayo
Affiliation:
UNICEF Regional Office for West and Central Africa, BP 29720, Dakar, Senegal
Hamani Harouna
Affiliation:
HKI/Niger
Julie A Roley
Affiliation:
HKI/Mozambique
Ann Tarini
Affiliation:
Helen Keller International, BP 8150 Ouagadougou 04, BurkinaFaso
Shawn K Baker
Affiliation:
HKI Africa Region
*
*Corresponding author: Email rhampshire@hki.bf
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Abstract

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Background:

In sub-Saharan Africa, underweight and micronutrient deficiencies account for an estimated 25% of the burden of disease. As the coverage of national health systems expands, increased opportunities exist to address the needs of children and women, the most vulnerable to these deficiencies, through high-quality nutrition services.

Objectives:

To assess health providers' knowledge and practice with regard to essential nutrition services for women and children in Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Niger, in order to assist the development of a standard guide and tools to assess and monitor the quality of the nutrition services delivered through national health systems.

Findings:

The three surveys reveal the extent of missed opportunities to deliver nutrition services during routine prenatal, postnatal and child-care consultations for the prevention and treatment of highly prevalent nutritional deficiencies.

Conclusion:

A commitment to improving the quality of facility-based nutrition services is necessary to impact on the health outcomes of women and children ‘covered’ by national health systems. Rigorous assessment and monitoring of the quality of nutrition services should inform health programme and policy development. Building on the lessons learned in these three assessments, Helen Keller International has developed a standard Guide and Tools to assess the quality of the nutrition services delivered through national health systems. These tools can be adapted to assess ongoing nutrition services in health facilities, provide a framework for nutrition programming, inform the development of pre-service as well as in-service nutrition training curricula for providers, and evaluate the impact of nutrition training on providers' practices.

Keywords

NutritionHealth systemsBurkina FasoMozambiqueNiger
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 7 , Issue 8 , December 2004 , pp. 1047 - 1053
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2004

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