PATH receives new award from USAID to advance urban health equity in Senegal
PATH will work with public, private, and community-sector stakeholders to address barriers to care and improve the health status of populations living in underserved areas of Dakar.
Dakar, Senegal, October 31, 2022 - PATH has been selected by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to lead a new five-year project to address health disparities in Dakar, Senegal. The Urban Health award supports USAID’s wider portfolio of programs to improve health status and human capital in the country.
The PATH-led consortium, composed of Action et Développement (AcDev), Enda Santé, Alliance du secteur privé de la santé du Sénégal (ASPS), and Open Development, will implement the US$12.5 million project in selected health districts of Dakar. Interventions will prioritize the needs of populations at risk and leverage the resources and expertise of the private sector to expand access to essential services.
Among greater Dakar’s 3.8 million inhabitants (23 percent of Senegal’s population), people living in low-resourced settings are a heterogeneous, rapidly expanding population with unique challenges and needs. Nearly 30 percent of urban dwellers in Senegal live in informal settlements, with inadequate infrastructure and access to health services, resulting in unhealthy living environments and poorer health outcomes. The health districts targeted under this project encompass high-density neighborhoods with diverse populations and cultural and religious profiles. They face intersectional challenges including rapid urbanization, poverty, unemployment, inadequate infrastructure, informal housing settlements, socioeconomic inequality, gender disparities, large youth populations, and vulnerability to climate change risks - all of which are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately impacts marginalized and disadvantaged communities.
The Urban Health project will address health disparities in Dakar by implementing innovative interventions adapted to an urban context, an essential step towards improving health status and human capital in Senegal. Considering that 52% of the Dakar population is under the age of 25 years old, PATH will align the Urban Health activities with USAID’s Youth in Development Policy and strengthen youth programming, participation, and partnership.
Building on the commitment to community engagement and Human-Centered Design approaches, the UH project will support communities and stakeholders in taking a central role in improving access to and demand for high-quality health services and systems by supporting the co-design of inclusive and relevant strategies and solutions. It will prioritize inclusive participation and ensures that healthcare workers, private-sector providers, data managers, community organizations, youth, women, and other vulnerable or marginalized populations are at the center of the conversation about developing and testing innovative solutions to improve health outcomes.
“The USAID’s urban health investment offers an unprecedented opportunity to improve health equity in Dakar,” said Aminatou Sar, PATH West Africa Hub and Senegal Country Director. “We are proud to partner with USAID and the Government of Senegal to reimagine the Urban Health ecosystem, develop innovate solutions and partnerships that will ultimately improve health outcomes for Senegal’s population.”
To accelerate and amplify impact, PATH will complement and align with USAID’s Improving Health Status and Human Capital in Senegal, USAID/Senegal’s other Dakar-based initiatives and USAID/Senegal’s multisectoral activities.
About the Consortium
The consortium made up of PATH and partners Action et Développement (AcDev), Enda Santé, Alliance du Secteur Privé de la Santé du Sénégal (ASPS), and Open Development brings diverse and synergistic expertise in health systems strengthening, service quality and integration, data for action, innovation and sustainability, private-sector engagement, and social and behavioral change to address entrenched obstacles in urban settings and improve health outcomes in reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health; nutrition; family planning; prevention and treatment of malaria; and water, sanitation, and hygiene. Building on our collective commitment to UH and expertise in working with local communities and the public and private sectors in Dakar, we are well-positioned to engage local authorities, the private sector, communities, and other stakeholders in addressing UH disparities.
About PATH
PATH is a global nonprofit dedicated to achieving health equity. With more than 40 years of experience forging multisector partnerships, and expertise in science, health, economics, technology, advocacy, and dozens of other specialties, PATH develops and scales innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing health challenges.
About USAID
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) promotes and demonstrates American values of democracy and its vision of a free, peaceful, and prosperous world. Together with its Senegalese partners, USAID/Senegal provides assistance that saves lives, expands economic growth, provides education opportunities, strengthens governance and civil society, and supports Senegal’s national development plan, the Plan Sénégal Emergent.