insight for a better world

Improving Health and Well-Being in West and Central Africa

Our offices in the West and Central Africa region are led by African professionals with extensive experience in the public and private sectors.
Programs and Achievements
For more than 20 years, Futures Group has furthered policy and advocacy through USAIDs global POLICY projects, the Health Policy Initiative, and the current Health Policy Project working to improve the health environment in West and Central Africa. We have facilitated national and regional discussions on family planning (FP) in a region that has some of the highest levels of unplanned pregnancies in the world, along with the health and economic consequences of millions of unintended pregnancies. We aided legislative reform through the creation of a model law to protect reproductive health (RH) and a series of high-level advocacy forums, leading to new or updated national laws that improved quality of and access to RH care in eight countries. Regionally, Futures Group has also worked on the HIV/AIDS and RH components of USAIDs Action for West Africa (AWARE) program to achieve health sector reform, increase advocacy for policy change, reposition family planning, and strengthen contraceptive security. We have advocated to reduce HIV stigma and discrimination and to improve national policies, norms, and procedures related to HIV prevention, care, and treatment. We recently completed the first comprehensive assessment of policies and laws related to most-at- riskpopulations in the sub-region covered by AWARE. In Mali, we applied our expertise in pursuing gender equity by working with local and Islamic leaders to develop advocacy strategies for gender sensitivity in health services and constructive male engagement in FP. We have also worked with religious leaders, Parliamentarians, and networks to mobilize resources, notably through Global Fund Round 8 funding. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, we facilitated the design and adoption of a comprehensive national action plan for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and arranged a south-south exchange with the national OVC program in Cte dIvoire. Our work in the region on modeling and economic analysis includes increasing local skills and knowledge in data use and tools such as our AIDS Impact Model (AIM), which we applied in Cameroon. We have used the Goals Model for in-depth analysis of the impact of HIV funding scenarios in Ghana. In Senegal, we helped the national government reposition FP by updating the RAPID Model analysis to demonstrate the impact of rapid population growth on the countrys economy and social sectors. To promote sustainable in-country capacity, we trained a team from CEFOREP on using RAPID and presenting analysis. We have also adapted RAPID for use in Islamic contexts and with traditional leaders. In Nigeria we applied the FamPlan Modelwhich projects fertility rates and contraceptive use and helps to assess related coststo analyze the countrys prospects in achieving its population policy goals.

Improving reproductive Health in West and Central Africa

Futures Groups comprehensive work on policies and programs to adress HIV/AIDS includes a focus on gender-related barriers to prevention and care; prevention of mother-to-child transmission; Improved counseling and testing; access to high-quality, low-cost medications; recognition of stigma and discrimination; and strengthening multisectoral responses to the epidemic.

Futures Group One Thomas Circle, NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20005 U.S.A. tel 202.775.9680 fax 202.775.9694 Futures Group Europe, Ltd. 2nd Floor Turnberry House 100 Bunhill Row London, EC1Y 8ND U.K. tel +44(0) 20 7250 0556 fax +44(0) 20 7336 8742 Futures Group India, Pvt., Ltd. DLF Building No. 10-B, 5th Floor DLF Cyber City, Phase-II Gurgaon - 122002 (Haryana) India tel 91.124.4702000 fax 91.124.4702042
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insight for a better world

In Cte dIvoire, we have applied our expertise in research and strategic information to analyze the policy environment affecting responses to HIV/ AIDS. We did an asssessment and gap analysis and developed a policy agenda in preparation for the countrys Partnership Framework with PEPFAR. In Ghana, we did research to identify groups most-at-risk for HIV/ AIDS, understand their needs, and develop targeted interventions based on results. Through the MEASURE Evaluation program, Futures Group has worked with government and non-governmental stakeholders in Nigeria to develop evidence- based policy and program guidelines for OVC and building in-country capacity to monitor and evaluate national OVC efforts; in Cte dIvoire collaborated with the National School of Nursing to test a data-demand-and-use module specifically designed for pre-service nursing training. We have applied our expertise in health markets and private sector engagement in Niger, using social marketing to address the intersections of family planning and HIV prevention. Working with the local private sector, we made high-quality condoms available at an affordable price. Futures Group built the capacity of an independent social marketing organization in Niger, to ensure that progress is sustainable.

against malaria with a focus on maternal and child health, working with networks and Parliamentarians to increase awareness and use of mosquito nets among families. Futures Groups innovative health informatics capabilities are evident in IQSolutions, a robust library of patient management and monitoring systems and data reporting tools. These tools provide the key components for adaptive patient management, healthcare quality, and clinical sustainability and are designed especially for use in countries with under- developed infrastructure, including rural areas with intermittent electricity and Internet access. In Nigeria, for example, we coordinate strategic information for the AIDSRelief project and have trained staff in more than 35 local partner treatment facilities in 16 states to use better patient monitoring and management systems for paper and electronic records, with improved health outcomes for clients. We are skilled in targeted strategic consulting for a variety of clients, helping to meet short-term needs rapidly and appropriately. For example, we have worked in Ghana through the USAID-funded Grant Management Solutions project to provide urgent technical support related to the countrys grant from the Global Fund. In Liberia we worked with DFID to establish an Office for Financial Management within the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Futures Group led the work on establishing appropriate health financing mechanisms linked to wider strategic policy and created a multidonor, pooled fund mechanism to finance activities from the national health plan. To learn more about Futures Groups capabilities and work in West and Central Africa, contact: info@futuresgroup.com

Clients and Collaborators

Futures Group has worked in West Africa with USAID, DFID, KfW, international implementing organizations, and countless African partners including national and local governments, NGOs, businesses, universities, networks, and regional organizations. These include the Forum of African and Arab Parliamentarians for Population and Development, WAHO, Centre de Formation et Recherche en Sant de la Reproduction (CEFOREP), the Malian network of Associations of Persons Living with HIV (RMAP+), UNAIDS, UNFPA, and many others.

Infectious Diseases
In the infectious diseases area, we worked in Nigeria to reduce mortality rates in pregnant women and young children by raising awareness of the threats of malaria, encouraging behavior change, and increasing the demand for and use of insecticides to treat bed-nets. Futures Group organized promotional road-shows for bed-net and insecticide manufacturers and helped to form a trade association. In Mali, we continue to merge work