Social Issue

Currently, Togo is far from being able to meet the targets of Sustainable Development Goals in relation to maternal and child mortality. The national maternal mortality rate is estimated to be 368 per 100,000 live births, making it among the highest in the world.

Togo has an under-five mortality rate of 73 per 1,000, slightly higher than the rate for all low-income countries, which is 69 per 1,000. However, in Kara, the northern region of Togo where Integrate Health works, the under-five mortality rate is 130 per 1,000 according to 2013 estimates.

The current healthcare system is too expensive for most and offers poorly equipped clinics far from where people live, leading to high mortality rates due to complications and often treatable diseases, such as malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia.

Our Response

Since 2004, Integrate Health has worked together with community leaders, government officials, and public health experts. Firstly to build and scale one of the most effective HIV care programs in Togo, and then to reduce maternal and infant mortality through the Integrated Primary Care Program (IPCP).

The approach integrates Community Health Workers (CHWs) with better care in public clinics. This powerful combination transforms the way primary health care is delivered and saves lives. One of the pillars of Integrate Health’s intervention is abolishing fees for pregnant women and children under five years of age in order to remove financial barriers to seeking medical help. 

The IPCP is currently implemented in 25 public clinics serving a population of over 204,000 in the northern Kara region of Togo, including in the district of Binah where IH launched services in July 2021. IH will continue to use the evidence garnered from the IPCP to drive policy to ensure quality universal healthcare to all eight million Togolese, while driving an improved global standard of primary care.

Netri’s donation will contribute to Integrate Health’s overall budget for the 2-year period.

Expected Social Impact

Integrate Health has demonstrated the effectiveness of this model. In September 2021, a new study published in Pediatrics by Integrate Health, Togo’s Ministry of Health, and researchers from various international universities demonstrated the effectiveness of the Integrated Primary Care Program over a five-year period in the Kozah district in northern Togo. Findings from the study suggest that Integrate Health’s IPCP contributed to a 30% decline in under-5 mortality over a 5-year period (from 51.1 per 1000 live births in 2015 to 35.8 in 2020). The decline was approximately twice the estimated decline in the national rate (14%) during the same period.

In terms of attribution, Netri’s donation will support Integrate Health by providing health services to more than 1600 people over the 2-year period.