During FY2018, BSC’s commitment to the Window of Opportunity (WinOp) project came to an end. The six-year WinOp project commenced in 2013 under a US$25 million agreement with PATH, an international not-for-profit global health organisation. The project focused on integrating maternal and child health services and childhood development interventions in South Africa and Mozambique.

The project worked to make a sustainable difference to infant and maternal health by focusing on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life through multi-faceted initiatives in the health system, including within the district, facility-level health providers and caregivers as well as community-based health education.

The project supported 24 community health organisations to improve their financial and organisational performance, and provided technical capacity development for a further 40 organisations. More than 270,000 people were reached through almost 75,000 household visits. These activities contributed over the life of the project to a 10 per cent decrease in neonatal mortality, a 55 per cent increase in breastfeeding and a 54 per cent increase in early initiation of antenatal care.

The project focused on securing the sustainability of its inter-sectoral collaborations at the district level, ensuring that local leadership will continue to bring together multiple partners and stakeholders to plan and implement maternal, newborn, child health, and nutrition and early childhood development interventions in accordance with local needs.