HEALTH
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
PROJECT SNAPSHOT
SHOW and Tell Our innovative approach changed the birth story for 1.5 million+ women and children in five countries.
Postnatal care [PNC] is one of the hardest areas to improve and also one of the most important as it’s during this time that we lose mothers to severe bleeding and infection. The improvement of 13% in PNC suggests a real decline in mortality.” – Dr. Tanjina Mirza, chief programs officer at P lan International Canada
GOAL To improve the health of women, adolescent girls and children by tackling gender inequality, a root cause of maternal and child deaths. The project was established in vulnerable communities in Bangladesh, Ghana, Haiti, Nigeria and Senegal.
E very day, more than 800 women and girls die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Our mission with the Strengthening Health Outcomes for Women (SHOW) project, which was supported by the Government of Canada and matched donor funds, was to change the birth story in Bangladesh, Ghana, Haiti, Nigeria and Senegal. WHAT MADE OUR APPROACH INNOVATIVE? “A traditional approach would have been providing health centres with training and supplies as well as some education for the
community,” explains Chris Armstrong, director of health at Plan International Canada. “With SHOW, we worked directly with communities to improve health by tackling gender barriers that have traditionally harmed women, men, girls and boys.” Saadya Hamdani, director of gender equality at Plan International Canada, adds that gender equality was integrated into SHOW activities from start to finish. “As a result, we’ve seen changes in women’s community leadership and the ways in which men support women,
both at home and when they’re seeking the health services they need. This is very exciting.” “I’ve never seen such comprehensive gender- transformative work,” says Tahina Rabezanahary, director of program management and compliance at Plan International Canada. “We helped tackle the root causes by removing the barriers that prevent women and adolescent girls from accessing health care services and exercising their sexual and reproductive health rights. We also worked with men and boys to encourage them to be promoters of women’s and girls’ health and rights.”
WHAT DO OUR PARTNERS SAY? “SHOW threw open the windows and let in a big breath of fresh air,” says Aminata Traore Seck, from the Ministry of Education, Senegal. “The approach and changes were revolutionary.” “Today, I see women who are going to deliver their babies at a health facility, and this is a big change,” adds Hafsatu Sety Sumani, who helped lead the SHOW project work in Ghana. “We see that men are supporting their pregnant wives more and accompanying them to the health facility.”
DURATION 6.5 years
PROJECT BUDGET $72.6 million
SUPPORTERS Global Affairs Canada and individual Canadian donors
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHOW PROJECT
1 Empower women and girls to demand health services, with full support from their partners, husbands and fathers. 2 Foster partner and health-centre accountability by sharing data that measures changes in the community. HERE ARE THE THREE AREAS WE FOCUSED ON IN THIS SIX-AND-A-HALF-YEAR PROJECT IN FIVE COUNTRIES: Ensure that the supply of trained health workers, volunteers and equipment in health centres meets the demands. 3
DIRECT BENEFICIARIES 2 . 4 million people, including more than 1.5 million women and girls
READ THE IMPACT REPORT
WATCH THE VIDEO
36 | 2022 Annual Report
2022 Annual Report | 37
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