INTEGRATED COMPANY REPORT 2014 - GIZ. Solutions that work.

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German expertise in the health sector is also in demand
elsewhere in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – the
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and
the global Vaccine Alliance Gavi, have commissioned GIZ
IS to manage their health funds for the country. And funded
by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation,
GIZ IS is working to improve the health care system in Sud-
Kivu province. On BMZ’s behalf, GIZ is also supporting
the country in implementing its National Health Develop-
ment Plan.
In Viet Nam too, rural areas still face a shortage of
well trained personnel and urgently needed medical equip-
ment. This is why Germany’s Federal Development Ministry
(BMZ) has been funding a health programme in five prov-
inces of the country since 2009. The European Union is
contributing EUR 1.5 million; here the focus is on making
hospital management more professional. To achieve this,
GIZ is advising regional health authorities on standardising
their accounting procedures and on introducing new IT sys-
tems – for instance allowing the electronic management of
patient files. Experts and managers in hospitals are being
shown how to make better use of funds and human
resources for the benefit of patients. KfW Development
Bank is also funding the purchase of medical equipment
urgently needed by the hospitals, and the disposal of medi-
cal waste. And GIZ is providing staff with the training
they need. Over 2,000 doctors, nurses, midwives and phar-
macists have received further training in intensive care,
prescribing practices, x-ray and ultrasound diagnosis, and
neonatal care. This has helped reduce the number of hospi-
tal-acquired infections and lower the rates of child and
maternal mortality. //
Health care | In many countries, it makes a difference
whether you fall ill in an urban or a rural area. This is
because in many cities health care has improved, whereas in
rural regions sick people still often need days to reach the
nearest health centre. Medical assistance either comes too
late or is inadequate, and the costs of treatment are too high.
Improved medical care for the rural population is therefore
one of the key objectives of Germany’s worldwide engage-
ment in the health sector.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, health care
is so poor that life-threatening diseases such as malaria,
tuberculosis and parasitic infestation are actually spreading,
and mortality rates are rising. Commissioned by the Congo-
lese Ministry of Public Health and the World Bank, GIZ
International Services (GIZ IS) has been supporting the
country in improving health care since 2013. Activities
involve training and motivating doctors, nurses and admin-
istrators in hospitals and at health posts. This is designed to
lower treatment costs and raise the quality of care for
roughly 2.8 million people in three remote districts in the
south-east of the country. A health care fund worth EUR
5.9 million has been created for this purpose.
GIZ IS is managing this fund, for which it has intro-
duced a performance-based financing system. This involves
GIZ IS entering into contracts with state, private and
church-run hospitals and health posts, stipulating for
instance how many antenatal examinations, deliveries, med-
ical check-ups, vaccinations or operations they must per-
form. The hospitals and health posts produce monthly
reports on the number and quality of the services they pro-
vide, which are paid for from the fund once the reports have
been thoroughly checked.
A patient survey gives us good reason to feel confident.
The number of services provided at these facilities has risen
gradually during the course of the project while the costs of
medical treatment have fallen.
Between 2007 and 2011, GIZ IS successfully implemented a
similar project in which primary health care services for
some 1.6 million people were overhauled in two south-east-
ern provinces.
Ebola aid | The war on the Ebola epidemic in West Africa
seems to have been won – partly thanks to German aid,
which GIZ helped deliver on behalf of the German Federal
Foreign Office and the German Federal Ministry for Eco-
nomic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In close
cooperation with German non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) and public agencies in Liberia, Sierra Leone and
Guinea, GIZ delivered food to people who were unable to
leave their homes due to quarantine regulations. We also
delivered a range of medicines and medical materials to
health posts – including syringes, intravenous drips and
dressing materials. This engagement went hand in hand
with public information campaigns to raise awareness of
the risks of infection and preventive measures, in which
GIZ worked with several NGOs. With a view to improving
health care in the long term, GIZ also supported other
health posts and a children’s hospital in the Sierra Leonean
capital of Freetown. This included supplying the hospital
with an ambulance and ensuring that the hospital staff are
paid regularly. As a result, 1,300 inpatients and 2,000 out-
patients are now being treated for medical conditions rang-
ing from malaria to pneumonia. GIZ was also active in Mali.
As well as conducting BMZ-funded measures for Ebola
prevention, on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office GIZ
supported the establishment of a mobile laboratory for Ebola
diagnosis and organised the training of Malian laboratory
personnel. //
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Viet Nam
// West Africa
Improved health care for
the rural population
Planning for
the future
Contact (Democratic Republic of the Congo): // Contact (Viet Nam):
Contact: //
Primary health
care already improved
for
1.6
million people
GIZ Integrated Company Report 2014 34 35 Promoting health