Mhuri/Imuli, a five-year project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, works to improve maternal, newborn, and child health and family planning (MNCH-FP) in Zimbabwe’s Manicaland Province, working closely with the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council. The project name includes Zimbabwean words for “family,” reflecting the project’s aspiration to advance comprehensive family health. FHI 360 is the prime partner and FACT — a Zimbabwe-based NGO working to improve health and reduce poverty among people affected by HIV and other related issues — is the subpartner.

The project objectives are:

• To improve demand for and the availability of quality MNCH-FP services in Manicaland Province and to increase access to a broad range of quality family planning services nationwide through outreach services
• To increase the use of MNCH-FP services, targeting hard-to-reach populations
• To strengthen community systems and linkages for integrated MNCH-FP services
• To improve the ministry’s and family planning council’s capacity for MNCH-FP policy implementation

To meet these objectives, the Mhuri/Imuli project provides technical assistance to strengthen health worker capacity, at the facility and village levels, for a continuum of respectful, quality care. The project optimizes links connecting health facilities and communities by using protocols and strategies tailored to differing needs, especially to adolescent and religious-objector communities.

Other project elements are:

• Implementing mobile family planning outreach services and building demand for a diverse method mix, including long-acting reversible and permanent contraception
• Improving capacity to deliver quality maternal and newborn health services through initiating on-the-job training and establishing skills labs at health facilities
• Using gender-transformative approaches to empower women and girls and engage men and boys
• Applying the Changing the River’s Flow framework to improve the utilization of maternal and newborn health services by religious communities through culturally appropriate interventions
• Implementing World Health Organization guidance for a positive pregnancy experience through a minimum of eight antenatal care contacts per pregnancy

For more information about the project, contact us.