West Pokot County

Our USAID-funded Partnership for Maternal and Neonatal Health (PMNH) project in the West Pokot District not only increased access to essential and emergency obstetric care among a nomadic population over four years, but increased use of lifesaving postpartum interventions by 20% and practice of exclusive breastfeeding by 60%.

From 2006-2010, HealthRight led the precursor PMNH project in the North Rift Valley, funded through the Child Survival and Health Grants Program (CSHGP). This project bridged on our previous work to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in five divisions of West Pokot district.

By the end of the project:

• Deliveries by skilled personnel had increased from 28% to 40%.
• Postnatal care attendance rose from 49% to 68%.
• Mothers’ knowledge of perinatal danger signs increased from 45-78% for the prenatal period and 69-82% for postnatal.
• Coverage of exclusive breastfeeding increased from 14% to 74%, with 78% of mothers showing increased knowledge of HIV transmission through breast milk.
• HIV counseling & treatment increased from 28% to 76%.