Youth are our future - Madagascar - USAID Community Capacity for Health Program

The USAID Community Capacity for Health Program in Madagascar worked with the country's Ministry of Population, Family Protection and the Promotion of Women to facilitate community dialogue around the issues of child marriage. This video shows the importance of engaging youth and communities in this dialogue through the story of Michaël Randrianantenaina, a youth peer educator in the Menabe region.

The USAID Community Capacity for Health Program enabled communities in Madagascar to take charge of their health through three major interventions. First, the construction of health huts financed by the communities in order to have access to local quality local health services. Second, the Program facilitated the establishment of community health funds to self-finance families' healthcare. Lastly, the establishment of medical evacuation systems and emergency transport services, available to all, to help during health emergencies.

The USAID Community Capacity for Health Program—known in Madagascar as Mahefa Miaraka—was a five-year (2016–2021) community-based integrated health program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The program was a collaborative
effort among the Ministry of Public Health, USAID, and JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. Mahefa Miaraka provided tools and capacity-building training to approximately 10,000 community health volunteers who provided basic maternal health, child health, and family planning services to their local communities. The Program also worked with national and local government stakeholders to strengthen the health sector and health policies. Mahefa Miaraka operated in seven regions of Madagascar, covering 4,708 villages with a total population of 6.6 million people, or 28 percent of the country’s population.