Project Activities

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This project is an attempt to maximize the benefits of the outcome with minimum external outputs. In order to achieve the project goal with effectiveness and efficiency, we extensively utilize the existing systems and resources, and make them function in better coordination. Followings are the strategies adopted;

1. Capacity Development of the government personnel

   We will assist capacity development of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Director General of Health Services and Director General of Family Planning in particular, by providing management-related trainings. In its process, we will make full use of the Local Level Planning (LLP) already introduced by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

2. Public-Private Partnership

   This project is never a success without engaging diverse stakeholders involved in the maternal and child health, including NGOs, private practitioners, local businesses, community groups, and local government bodies such as Union Parishad. We will work closely with those important players in implementing the project activities.

3. Community Participation in collaboration with NGOs

   One of the key components of the project is to address the maternal and child health issues at the grass-root level. The community-level work such as raising awareness and community participation will be carried out by CARE Bangladesh^*1, which has extensive expertise in community activities. In pursuant of quality input with minimal cost, we contracted out the baseline survey of the project to BRAC^*2, and its report featuring community-awareness level in the target areas came out in March 2006.

   *1,*2; See the "4.Link" page.
4. Policy changes

   Policy reflection of the project experiences and lessons learned is sought through Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) with Ministry officials and through the national safe motherhood annual workshop, which will be organized by the joint efforts of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and JICA. By reaching out to the grass-root level up through the policy-making level, we will help the Government of Bangladesh to ensure that the problems faced in the community will be sufficiently reflected in the policy and that the policy in turn will better meet the local needs.

5. Program approach

   Program approach refers to a strategy recently advocated, which intends to effectively produce a greater impact of a project by linking different assistance modalities of Japan. One example is combining technical cooperation with a grant aid. This project is one of the few JICA projects that employ program approach from its inception, with different schemes embedded in the initial project design.

6. Optimal use of local human resources as project staffs

   Of the total of 17 project staffs, 14 are Bangladeshis while the rest are Japanese. This maximum use of local personnel not only reduces the cost of the project, but also enhancing the quality of the project, taking advantage of their previous experiences and extensive knowledge of the health sector in the Bangladeshi context. Hired staffs are a great mix of professionals with rich experiences at the grassroots level, which contributes to building team spirit and creating the favorable work environment that encourages mutual learning and self-growth.

   For more details on who we are, see People of the project