The ACCESS Program in Ghana builds on current Maternal and Neonatal Health (MNH) activities being carried out by the USAID-supported Quality Health Partners (QHP) program. Drawing on the efforts of Jhpiego—a key QHP partner—to improve the preservice education of health service providers, ACCESS aims to ensure the quality of MNH services in health facilities as well as to improve community awareness of birth preparedness and danger signs.

To do this, ACCESS is working to translate existing national and regional life-saving skills trainings—supported by QHP and others—into facility-level interventions in target districts by:

-- Developing the capacity of one district-level hospital of the Ghana Health Service to “perform to standard” in selected essential emergency obstetrical skills, immediate newborn care, and neonatal resuscitation;

-- Strengthening the skills of clinicians in each hospital, who will serve as MNH experts and clinical instructors in their facilities; and

-- Improving community knowledge of birth preparedness and recognition of danger signs in newborns and their mothers in the target district communities, through coordination with USAID-funded partner organizations and other local nongovernmental organizations.

About ACCESS:

The ACCESS Program is the U.S. Agency for International Development''s global program to improve maternal and newborn health. The ACCESS Program works to expand coverage, access and use of key maternal and newborn health services across a continuum of care from the household to the hospital—with the aim of making quality health services accessible for women and newborns. Jhpiego implements the program in partnership with Save the Children, Constella Futures, the Academy for Educational Development, the American College of Nurse-Midwives and Interchurch Medical Assistance.