In 2021 alone, ADRA implemented 257 health projects globally valued at over $38 million. ADRA’s health programs save lives, protect against disease, and support healthy communities. With a focus on women and children, ADRA prioritizes prevention through informed choices, healthy behavior, and care-seeking and builds capacity to develop and engage evidence-based approaches for combatting infectious and non-communicable disease and building resilience.
ADRA coordinates health research and learning across its 120+ country offices through a Health Technical Learning Lab (HTLL) with global membership of senior experts. Recent HTLL knowledge sharing includes reporting on pilots, preparing and sharing technical webinars and podcasts, and support on developing abstracts and presentations for technical conferences and venues.
Health programming is integral to ADRA’s responsible global actions in a world where lower income countries have ten times the child mortality of higher income ones and where women’s deaths during childbirth in sub-Saharan Africa are 60 times higher than for countries in the European Union.
ADRA has documented increased impact when health activities are part of broader yet complementary multi-sector approaches. ADRA has been increasingly active within the One Health space, intersecting a critical focus on people, animals, and the environment. ADRA’s portfolio is rich with examples of integrated programs that include prevention and response to zoonotic disease outbreaks paired with nutrition; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); food security; and adaptations to climate change and protection of the environment, as well as examples of integration with agriculture/livelihoods and/or education.
ADRA builds capacity to deliver quality health care across all building blocks leveraging its strong relationships with national and subnational government authorities; decades of system strengthening expertise for MNCH/FP/RH, Health Facility WASH, and related sectors such as nutrition; and engagement with the private sector including over 550 Seventh-day Adventist health facilities around the world. ADRA works toward health system quality, equity, and resource optimization with a specific focus on strengthening the connection between communities and excellent community-based primary health care (PHC) with quality front-line health facilities and services, both public and private. An important element is availability of data through digitization, and use of data for decision-making, from improving health and logistics management information systems (HMIS / LMIS).
ADRA promotes, builds capacity, and sustains increased knowledge and changed practices for RH/FP and the range of actions focusing on MNCH. Recognizing that the health of infants and young children starts with the physical and mental health of the mother / caretaker, ADRA builds capacity for PHC with an integrated lifespan perspective with special emphasis on the mother / caretaker and the child’s first 1000 days. This focus encompasses FP and timing of pregnancies as described below; healthy pregnancies; preparation for delivery; a delivery with a skilled attendant; antenatal care/postnatal care (ANC/PNC); and perinatal mental health. It integrates closely with nutrition; early childhood development; WASH; food security; and livelihoods. ADRA supports the expansion of approaches for the prevention and treatment of common illnesses; integrated management of neonatal and childhood illnesses (IMNCI) at health facility and community levels, and clinical care including rational use of pharmaceuticals and supply chain management. ADRA engages social and behavior change (SBC) for demand creation and the adoption of healthy behaviors. As a complementary support to health ADRA also improves WASH in health facilities and constructs or rehabilitates PHC facilities including maternal waiting and birthing centers.
ADRA’s RH/FP approaches include ending Child, Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) and delayed sexual debut for young people; and healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies through human-centered and system-wide approaches. ADRA promotes long-lasting methods with a full range of approaches addressing both supply and demand while increasing the quality of services to expand options. ADRA promotes men’s increased engagement in RH/FP, child-care, and shared health decision-making.
As NCDs reach epidemic proportions globally, ADRA is actively developing and testing approaches based on the history of the SDA church’s long engagement in health and wellness. With a priority on prevention, ADRA is continuously refining its approaches to preventing NCDs and is implementing community-based and effective lifestyle interventions to improve nutrition, increase exercise, and stop smoking, among other actions through its “NextGen CELEBRATIONS!” approach. ADRA also supports the WHO Package of Essential Noncommunicable Interventions for Primary Care (PEN) and positioning for PEN-Plus adaptations. In its emergency health programs ADRA provides basic NCD clinical care including pharmaceutical support.
As disease outbreaks increase globally, ADRA is committed to providing support to reduce their negative impacts on communities worldwide. In the DRC, ADRA has been working in the health sector for decades, most recently supporting epidemic response programs through the implementation of prevention and infection control, risk communication, and community mobilization activities for zoonotic diseases such as Ebola Virus Disease, monkeypox, and COVID-19. In Honduras, ADRA implemented a UNOCHA-funded multisectoral program which included fumigation activities and improvement of community and domestic wells to improve water safety and prevent Zika transmission, benefiting over 5,000 people in 30 different communities. Currently, ADRA Honduras continues to empower local health volunteers to reinforce practices and develop awareness around prevention of other vector-borne zoonoses such as dengue and chikungunya.
From localized initial responses to natural and man-made disasters such as recent Cholera/Zika/Ebola Virus Disease epidemics, the aftermath of natural disasters, and the results of conflict; to large-scale network responses such as the COVID-19 crisis and mega-disasters and long-standing complex emergencies, ADRA is at the frontlines. Interventions include emergency PHC, integrated health and WASH responses, infection and prevention control, emergency SBC approaches, and psychosocial support. In fragile settings of conflict and displacement, ADRA works with government and other service providers to resume or establish frontline static, emergency mobile, and community-based PHC.
Discover the incredible impact ADRA has across the world! With a presence in over 120 countries, ADRA brings new hope and positive change to countless communities in need. From disaster relief to long-term sustainable development projects, ADRA’s commitment to making a difference has inspired many to join in their efforts to create a better world. Through perseverance and compassion, ADRA has touched the lives of so many and continues to inspire us all to work towards a brighter future. Together we can make a difference.
© ADRA International 2024
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