Through this five-year, $69 million award from the US Agency for International Development, IntraHealth International and its partners are working to improve health for women and children in Senegal by strengthening health services and making them accessible to more people.

The project is helping Senegal achieve the vision it outlines in its Plan Senegal Emergent: “a Senegal where all individuals, all households, and all communities enjoy universal access to promotional, preventive, curative health services of quality, without any form of exclusion.”

Senegal has made great strides in improving health and well-being among its people—the use of modern contraception is up; infant, child, and maternal mortality are down; and essential health commodities are becoming more widely available. During West Africa’s Ebola outbreak, the country successfully mobilized its health system to prevent widespread cases within its borders. And the government of Senegal has shown its commitment to health-sector accountability through strong health policies and plans.

But challenges persist. High-impact practices to reduce maternal and newborn mortality have not yet been scaled up and institutionalized nationally. In some regions, health facilities continue to run out of essential medications and commodities. And gender inequities continue to threaten the potential of women and girls.

Neema will address these issues by:

• Increasing access to and use of a wide range of high-quality services and products, including modern contraception, in the country’s public-sector health facilities and in communities.
• Reaching out to key populations in targeted areas to provide HIV testing, antiretroviral treatment, and high-quality care in alignment with the UNAIDS global 90-90-90 goals.
• Encouraging respectful client care, gender-sensitivity, and youth-friendliness in health care by incorporating these issues into health worker trainings.
• Promoting behavior change, including by providing the knowledge and resources people need to make informed, healthful decisions.
• Bringing services closer to clients by investing in community health, including by expanding the network of community health workers and facilities and integrating community health into the overall health system.