Author(s)

Babughirana Geoffrey¹, Musasizi Benon¹, Lorna Muhirwe Barungi¹, Andrew Tumuhameho¹, Tushemerirwe Florence², Twaha Rwegyema³

¹World Vision, Kampala, Uganda.
²Independent Consultant, Kampala, Uganda.
³The Diet Clinic, Kampala, Uganda.

The Baby Friendly Health facility Initiative (BFHI) is a health care environment which supports, protects and promotes breastfeeding as a norm. The World Vision Uganda East African Maternal Newborn and Child Health (EAMNCH) project supported its implementation with a focus on the Transformation of 24 health facilities into Mother-Baby Friendly in Kitgum district. Four (4) out of twelve (12) health facilities that participated in the external assessment scored 75% and above, and this is the required minimum score for a health facility to be certified as Baby Friendly. The four are: St Joseph’s Hospital (81%), Orom HCiii (75%), Loborom HCiii (75%), and Akilok HCiii (75%). From the findings, it’s recommended that health facilities should actively engage the Village Health Teams (VHTs) in their catchment areas to strengthen Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) community support to strengthen community-health facility linkages.

Baby Friendly Health Facility Initiative, Health Worker Mentorship and Coaching, Transformation of Health Facilities, Health System’s Strengthening

Geoffrey, B. , Benon, M. , Barungi, L. , Tumuhameho, A. , Florence, T. and Rwegyema, T. (2016) Transforming Health Facilities into Mother-Baby Friendly Centers: Experience of World Vision, East African Maternal Newborn and Child Health Project in Kitgum District, Uganda, 2016. Open Access Library Journal, 3, 1-22. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1103180.