Highlighting the Effectiveness of the Maternal and Child Health Handbook

On August 9, a feedback seminar on the impact analysis of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Handbook in Indonesia was held at the National Institute of Health Research and Development (NIHRD) of the Indonesia Ministry of Health. At the event, Yasuyuki Sawada, JICA-RI Visiting Fellow, presented research findings on the effectiveness of MCH Handbooks derived from empirical data based on impact analysis.

Sawada discussed the findings with officers from bureaus related to NIHRD, members of the country's statistics bureau, Statistics Indonesia (BPS), and donors with a vested interest in the research. One suggestion that arose was that data must be simplified in order to create greater feedback systems for actual fieldwork. Among the plans for the future include: data analysis of the new Report of Result of National Basic Health Research (RISKEDAS) conducted by the Indonesia Ministry of Health, prefecture level analysis, fine-tuning of indices, and exchange of information including original research among donors such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

MCH handbooks contributed greatly to the improvement of maternal and child health during Japan's post-war era. Through experience with the Handbook, JICA is contributing to the Millennium Development Goals of "Reduce Child Mortality" and "Improve Maternal Health." In this regard, JICA-RI has launched the research project "Application of Improved Impact Analysis Methods to JICA Operations" under which Sawada's presentation on the JICA project "Ensuring MCH Services with the MCH Handbook Project" was the focus out of several other targeted projects.

RELATED RESEARCH AREA: Aid Strategy

RELATED RESEARCH PROJECT: Impact Evaluation Analyses for the JICA Projects