The Project

Nigerian Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH2) is a five-year DFID funded programme delivering maternal, newborn and child health interventions. The programme aims to strengthen health system coordination through improved health sector planning and financing, in six states in Northern Nigeria. MNCH2 works with community, organizations, local and state government, health practitioners, and more to improve the lives of women, children and families.

Since inception of the programme, LAMP developed a VFM strategy which set out the metrics and evidence to measure and monitor VfM. It is based on the MNCH2 results framework and covers economy, efficiency, effectiveness, equity and sustainability throughout the programme cycle.

LAMP designed and implemented a Value for Money approach within MNCH2, including building up the capability of the programme team and developing a VfM plan to ensure objectives are met. Costs were benchmarked from data available from previous DFID Health projects such as PATHS 2 and PRINNN-MNCH. The capacity of the technical and operational staff across the states and HQs was built not only to understand the practical aspect of VFM but to embed VFM considerations in daily operations of MNCH2. LAMP developed data collection tools to help states to accurately capture information about cost savings, government contributions and unit costs of workhops and trainings.

Through quarterly and annual reviews, LAMP supports MNCH2 monitoring and reporting at state level, to measure efficiency of the programme and give recommendations to maximise use of resources and drive continuous improvement year on year. Early results are promising, with administration costs falling under 15% of total programme costs and the unit cost of supporting a health facility lower than benchmarks.