Closing equity gaps with MyChild Outreach

In some low-income countries, as much as 80% of the population lives in rural areas, and it is there that the problem of equitable access to healthcare for pregnant women, mothers and children is most pressing. 

Outreaches were intended to take immunisation and health services closer to intended recipients, especially in hard-to-reach or underserved areas, because as much as 80% of the population in some countries live in rural areas. It is there that the problem of equitable access to healthcare for pregnant women, mothers and children is most pressing, but poor and irregular access to information makes it nearly impossible for decision makers working to close the gaps to succeed.

Parents don’t know for certain when an outreach will take place, and may often turn up at an outreach site after walking for many hours, only to discover there is no session that day. The outreach may not take place on that day because of many reasons which we're trying to solve with better data to ensure no mother and child is left behind.

We’ve developed MyChild Outreach (full report https://shifo.org/doc/MyChildOutreach.pdf/) specifically to close equity gaps, and enable health systems to meet the demands of communities not only at health centres but also in outreaches, and we are working with partners, among them Gavi, IKEA Foundation, IKARE, Plan International, Swedish Postcode Foundation, ActionAid International The Gambia, Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, and Ashoka Scandinavia to close the gaps to ensure that no mother or child dies from preventable diseases.