Africare’s Health Niche
In what areas should Africare strive to position itself
to be widely known as the “go to” organization?
Office of Health
Outline
-
Working Hypothesis
Brief overview major health program areas
Lessons from past programs
Lessons from current trends
Africare’s comparative advantage and
positioning
- CHSS strategies
The Working Hypothesis
Africare needs to position itself as the preferred partner for
community level health systems strengthening (CHSS), with
expertise across the main health challenges that concern
most African communities, looking to increasingly link them
to services in the community and at the primary health care
level.
Africare should do this through:
1) building local capacity to deliver preventive and treatment
services
2) advocate for sustained strengthening and integration of
service provision at the primary health and community levels
including linkages
Africare major health program areas
Major health program areas
Community Level Maternal Neonatal and Child
Health (MCH/MNCH)
- technical interventions ranging from ANC, EmONC, PMTCT, nutrition,
immunization, health facility IMCI and iCCM, childhood diarrhea, malaria
and malnutrition; essential drug management, birth spacing and HIV/AIDS
Since the 1980s, Africare has implemented 15 programs aimed at Child
Survival; many more in MCH in general
Notable innovations: use of women’s groups in Senegal and elsewhere (eg.
Maternal Care Group Strategy); maternity waiting homes strategy
Extensive Africare experience, still increasing funding focus
Major health program areas
HIV/AIDS
strengthening community and government capacities to provide highquality HIV-related health services, including care and support, using
evidence based management approach
Extensive Africare experience: South Africa (2004-present), Zimbabwe,
through faith based organizations (2008-2012) etc
HIV/AIDS immense attention from USG through PEPFAR, and others
over the last 10+ years – current trend to more targeted interventions and
transfer to respective country governments
Major health program areas
Malaria
- expertise in three proven and highly effective malaria prevention and treatment
strategies: promoting ownership and use of Long Lasting Insecticide Treated
mosquito Nets (LLITNs); Intermittent Preventive Treatment for pregnant women
(IPTp) and; Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for the treatment of
children under the age of five.
Over the years Africare has successfully implemented several
Malaria control programs in Africa including in Benin, Senegal,
Zambia, Uganda, Angola, Tanzania, Nigeria and Liberia.
Need for malaria programs continues to exist
Lessons from past programs
• Since its beginning in Niger, Africare has strived to
increase access to community preventive and curative
services - a continuing underlying goal
• Extensive experience in the relevant health
programming areas, working in hard to reach
communities, and with vulnerable groups
• Use of context specific mechanisms as vehicles for
implementation – use of women’s groups, CBOs,
community health workers etc for mobilizing, and
providing services and support
Lessons from past programs
• Provide services in an integrated manner –
various health, food security, livelihoods,
WASH services in many of our programs –
standalone health programs and health integrated
in to other development programs
• Affecting the social determinants of health
through poverty alleviation/ economic
strengthening and counteracting harmful gender
norms
• Using existing platforms to scale up and aim for
further integration like in Benin
Lessons from current trends
• USG pivot to technical assistance and capacity
building - USAID Forward agenda
• Systems strengthening mandates in most
current solicitations/RFAs
• Focus on systems and specific groups
– Continued push away from vertical/ disease
specific programs to strengthening systems that
deal with multiple issues
– Using previous gains from investments in vertical
programing to respond to general needs
Africare’s Comparative Advantage
and positioning
• The health areas we work on continue to be relevant:
community based maternal, neonatal and under-5 health,
including malaria and nutrition, OVC needs, access to HIV
services, water, sanitation and hygiene promotion
• High local staff representation – knowledge of local
culture, values and customs allows for a thorough
understanding of gender and community dynamics
• Strong external perception that Africare does community
based work - though we will increasingly see that to be
shifting as role for CSO/CBOs
• Utilize Africare’s current standing to elevate to the next
level to be seen as community health authority by
repackaging in terms of systems strategies
Summarizing CHSS platforms &
strategies
• CHSS will mean, Africare:
– Keeping current with main health sectors evidence
and programming to respond to the need
– Utilizing current standing with governments
– Building capacity of community health workers,
community based organizations and civil society
– Packaging tools and SOPs for CHSS engagement
– Advocacy for community based integrated approaches
Further discussion