CDI Module 9: Role of the CDI Focal
Person
©Jhpiego Corporation
The Johns Hopkins University
A Training Program on CommunityDirected Intervention (CDI) to Improve
Access to Essential Health Services
Module 9 Objectives
By the end of this module, learners will:
 Define who is a community-directed intervention
(CDI) focal person
 Describe the roles of the CDI focal person
 Explain how the health facility as a whole
supports the CDI focal person and CDI activities
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Why Do We Need a CDI Focal Person?
 CDI happens when communities take charge of
distributing health commodities themselves with
guidance from the health service
 A CDI focal person with supervisory responsibility
must be present at the supervising health facility to
guide the activities of the community-directed
distributors (CDDs)/community-oriented resource
persons (CORPs)
 The focal person must be trained in CDI activities
and willing to work with community members and
spend time in the community
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Who Is a CDI Focal Person?
 Several different cadres of
staff work in a health center
 Any of them can be CDI focal
persons
 The key criterion is that the
person is interested and
willing to reach out and work
with the community
 CDI focal persons are
usually identified at the
facility during CDI orientation
package training
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Key Duties
 Mobilize the first and second community meetings that
help establish CDI
 Help communities decide CDD selection criteria and make their
choices
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Supervise CDI preparation in the village (e.g., census)
Train CDDs chosen by the community
Supervise CDDs in the village and at monthly meetings
Coordinate commodities
 Order enough and ensure villages collect them
 Monitor and evaluate by collecting and collating CDD
records with health center records
 Coordinate with local partners (e.g., community- and
faith-based organizations)
 Continually promote community involvement
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Mobilizing the Community
The CDI focal person (she
or he):
 Carries out community
mobilization
 Holds a first community
meeting with village
leaders to seek interest
and schedule the
second larger meeting
 Then facilitates the
second community
meeting during which
the community makes a
commitment to CDI
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Supervising Preparation
The CDI focal person:
 Guides the
community to conduct
its census
 Helps the community
decide on CDD
criteria
 Shares information on
upcoming training
dates
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Training CDDs
The CDI focal person:
 Conducts
CDD/CORPs training
using adult education
and participatory
approaches
 Organizes refresher
training as needed
 Provides updates
during supervision
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Supervising CDDs
The CDI focal person:
 Provides supportive
supervision to the
CDDs/CORPs in the
village using the
supervisory checklist
 Participates in
monthly meetings
with the
CDDs/CORPs
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Coordinating Supplies
 CDI supplies depend on the package of services to be
provided through integrated community case
management (iCCM)
 The CDI focal person:
 Uses the village censuses to calculate and order
adequate supplies
 Supplies materials to the CDDs/CORPs and ensures
that such materials are in stock at all times
 Helps CDDs/CORPs maintain and audit their stocks
 Ensures that commodities are:
 In stock at the facility at all times
 Available when CDDs come to collect these supplies
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Coordinating Partners
 Partners and stakeholders for community
management of malaria (CMM) include:
 Community-based organizations (CBOs)
 Faith-based organizations (FBOs) and other civil
society organizations (CSOs)/nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) or agencies operating at the
community level
 Local partners have important roles to play in
 Health education of villagers
 Supporting the efforts of CDDs
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Monitoring and Evaluating
The CDI focal person:
 Receives and audits the
CDDs’/CORPs’ reports
 Keeps the CDDs’/CORPs’
records at the facility level
and summarizes the
facility’s report for
submission to the local
government area (LGA)
 Provides feedback to the
community on the
performance of the CDDs
and the data collected from
them
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Continual Community Mobilization
 Regular community meetings are needed
 Together with CDDs/CORPs, the focal person
helps bring community members together to:
 Seek their views on progress and problems
 Help the community solve problems
 Reinforce the community’s continued commitment to
the CDI process and support for their CDDs
 Identify additional services that can be added to CDI
 Help the community replace any CDDs who may
have moved or dropped out
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Role of the Health Facility
 All health center staff must support the CDI process
 The focal person accomplishes this by working with:
 The pharmacy to ensure adequate supplies of
appropriate commodities
 The records department to ensure CDD reports are
integrated with health center data
 Antenatal care (ANC) and child health staff to ensure
that community referrals are welcomed
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Summary Questions
Someone please tell us:
 Who is the CDI focal person?
 What are the roles of the CDI focal person
based at the frontline health facility?
 How can the health facility support the CDI focal
person?
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