Objectives:

The provision of technical assistance to Jamaica in attaining the MDG 4 – Reducing Child Mortality and MDG 5 – Improving Maternal Health by the provision of management support to the Jamaican Ministry of Health (MoH) in the implementation of the National Project for the Reduction of Maternal and Child Mortality.

Content:

The project seeks to (1) improve new born (neonatal) and emergency obstetric care through the construction and outfitting of 11 high dependency units (HDUs) and the rehabilitation of the tertiary hospital’s entire labour and delivery suite and maternal-foetal area; (2) improve quality of primary health care services and referral systems through the rehabilitation of 6 primary healthcare premises, improvement of ambulance referral services, strengthened support services for ultrasound diagnosis and laboratory testing in at least 4 regional antenatal clinics and 2 rural community hospitals; (3) health worker training and research in areas of specialization not previously available in Jamaica (postgraduate neonatology and maternal-foetal medicine), training in anaesthesiology and ultrasound diagnostics, training of nurses and other healthcare professionals, academic research on causes and risk factors of premature births with the purpose of guiding policy development related to prevention and management of maternal and child mortality in Jamaica; (4) support to the health seeking behaviour of the target population and the role of civil society in child and maternal mortality and patients’ rights advocacy; and (5) provision of technical assistance and capacity building to the MoH for institutional support for the programme implementation.

• General Project Management to optimise sequence of events, ensure EU regulations are abided to, preparation and update of implementation plan and of accurate project estimates for implementation, monitoring and evaluation, financial management, EU visibility audit and record keeping;
• Project oversight through steering, communication and regular reporting to client and partners;
• Capacity building of MoH on contract management, contractual correspondence, preparation and conduction of site inspection visits and project management including planning and implementation, financial recording and bookkeeping;
• Project implementation through preparation of tender dossiers and contracts in line with EU and national regulations, management of all tender processes and contracts, support to the client in drafting a call for proposals, consultations with senior health care/hospital management regarding plans and design for refurbishment, quality assurance of structural work in line with national regulations, oversight on building permission, preparatory work (patient relocation, site provisions for contractors etc.), budget management of short term expertise and attendance of site meetings for each works contract;
• Provision of staff;
• Technical and administrative backstopping