24th June, 2011
AMREF and UNICEF have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish areas of mutual interest and collaboration. To achieve greater efficiency, the two organisations have agreed to develop and implement programmes jointly, particularly to improve the health of women and children.
The MOU was signed at AMREF Headquarters by Elhadj As Sy, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, and AMREF’s Director General Dr Teguest Guerma. It spells out several areas of collaboration between the two organisations, including promotion of vaccination of children and women; training of health workers involved in management of maternal, newborn and childhood illnesses, elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and research to improve public health approaches.
Other areas of collaboration are gender mainstreaming, equity and advocacy for women’s and children’s rights, programming for water, sanitation and hygiene, evaluation of projects and resource mobilisation.
Click on the image to view a slideshow of the MOU signing ceremony
Dr Guerma described the MOU as timely, as AMREF is reorganising itself and working to position itself as a leading organisation working in health. AMREF, she said, considers it important to work with other organisations in areas of mutual interest in order to develop a common position on Africa’s position on global health issues. For the next three years, AMREF is focusing on the health of women and children, Dr Guerma said, and expressed confidence that the collaboration with UNICEF would go a long way towards making a difference in the health of African communities.
Commenting on the new partnership, Elhadj Sy said that UNICEF was committed to making a difference in the lives of communities but needed partners like AMREF in order to do this effectively. “We work in the area of policy and practice, but we need to work with others on the ground to determine what those policies and practices should be, and whether they work. If we are to meet the Millennium Development Goals, it is important that we reach the poorest and most isolated. This MOU with AMREF will enable us to do that because AMREF has a presence in these communities.”
Elhadj Sy said that the fact that AMREF works at all levels, from the ground right up to the policy and practice arena, makes it a valuable partner that can help others understand the technicalities of what works in communities. He added that AMREF’s long history of working in Africa has earned it legitimacy and a good reputation, which gives UNICEF confidence in formalising a working relationship through the MOU.
Expounding on the implications of the MOU, AMREF’s Head of Programme Management, Mette Kjaer, explains that the MOU gives AMREF greater potential to scale up activities and a wider scope for operation than it would have been able to reach on its own. It points to AMREF’s credibility and therefore opens doors for collaboration with more UN bodies and other organisations. The partnership also gives AMREF an important platform for influencing policy and practice at a global level on issues relating to community health, and especially the health of women and children.
Mette adds that the MOU provides avenues for AMREF and UNICEF to fundraise together and leverage each others’ strengths in order to become more effective and expand their activities. “UNICEF does not have direct access to communities, but AMREF does. UNICEF will continue to influence policy and practice at global level, while AMREF as the implementing agency will test policies and practices proposed by UNICEF to see if they work and if they can be scaled up.”
