The WIN/MCHI project

The Russia Maternal and Child Health Initiative (formerly the Women and Infants` Health Project (WIN)) is a comprehensive health initiative. The project was designed and implemented as an intergovernmental, bilateral health care collaboration funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Maternal and Child Health Initiative (MCHI) has been working with the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation.

Over 200 health care institutions in over 20 regions of the Russian Federation currently take part in the Women and Infants (WIN)/Maternal and Child Health Initiative (MCHI) project (as of January 2008). The project started in 1999 in two regions. Each year it expanded its geographical coverage: new regions joined in the work, from the Far East to the north-western borders of Russia. Now the project has entered a new phase which promotes the dissemination of modern approaches to care during pregnancy, delivery and infanthood, as well as preserving women’s and men’s reproductive health., The Project works with all the health care facilities of the participating regions, including the district hospitals and the feldsher and obstetric stations. The pre- and post-graduate level education facilities – medical academies, universities and colleges – have also joined the work in the project.  

The main goal of the WIN/MCHI project is to improve the quality of health care services for women, children, adolescents, men and families as a whole by helping bring into practice effective methods and international standards, the effectiveness of which has been proved by the methods of evidence-based medicine.

The new approaches to the implementation of perinatal care facilitated the decrease of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. De-medicalization and regionalization of the care, the interdisciplinary and team approaches turned out to be sufficiently simple, efficient and cost-effective methods as well as dramatically increased the satisfaction of both clients and providers in the care.

The project popularizes the humane approach towards providing health care services, makes the interests of the patient and his/her satisfaction with the provided care a priority. At maternity hospitals and children’s hospitals all the necessary conditions have been created for the mother and the baby to be together all the time, and enable the father and the family members to take an active part during pregnancy, delivery and the postpartum period. Based on the surveys conducted among various health care providers, participation in the WIN/MCHI project has changed the relationships between the physicians and midwives and with the patients and their family members. Only one answer can be heard to the

The Russia Maternal and Child Health Initiative is implemented by the Institute for Family Health (IFH).

• Methods of work
• Technical areas
• Feedback and achievements
• MCHI regions

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