Community health’s capacity collaborative
Community health’s capacity collaborative
Overview Info:
IP: Relief International (RI)
Sub Ips: Tai Youth Organization (TYO).
Duration: 2021 to 2024.
Project title:
Strengthening community demand generation for health services for vulnerable communities in Kyethi, Monghsu and Mongkaing townships.
Project coverage area:
Mongkaing, Kyethi, Monghsu and Kunhing Townships in Southern Shan State.
Adaptable strategies:
An adaptable community system strengthening strategy for community demand generation.
A well-designed community demand generation program included community system strengthening for the most vulnerable people from ethnically controlled areas, ensuring community health workforces, the provision of seed funds, and interpersonal and peer communication. This was not only increased access to healthcare services but also empowered community members to take ownership of their own health and ensure sustainable improvements in health outcomes.
An adaptable integrated health communication strategy for partner organization and community.
Local partner staff’s communication system strengthening is part of the community demand generation program, which includes communication capacity building for local partner organization, workshops, and post assignment activities. By providing ongoing support and training, local partners can better connect with community members and drive positive behavior change.
An adaptable Human resource development strategy for ethnic health workers and service providers.
To tailor the health services gap and human resources insufficient among the ethnic health organizations, RI closely worked with the partnership of EHOs to establish their quality health system for improving access to quality healthcare services and to address the specific needs of underserved populations within the community.
Structural approaches that we used in community demand generation;
Advocacy and engagement: Relief International and our partners advocated with key stakeholders, local religious endorsements, and the community to raise awareness and create an enabling environment for addressing the service gaps in vulnerable communities.
Community mobilization/ working group: A successful community mobilization effort not only works to solve problems but also aims to increase the capacity of a community to successfully identify and address its own needs. RI and partners engaged with key community individuals, influencers, and stakeholders to encourage them to identify their problems and address them based on their own needs for improving their strengths and capacity, leading to sustainability.
Interpersonal communication (IPC)/peer educator: our partner nurtured community-based peer educators to raise awareness and disseminate important health messages through peer-to-peer communication approaches. Empowering the community individual, like PE training and refresher training, had a greater impact on our younger generation in improving healthier lives and owning their initiatives for the whole life.
Social change and BCC: The way we worked with community individuals, groups, and partners, which is applied to enabling the environment for health and social change. Community-based approaches reach the community through locally interested design, which includes community theater performances, video screening tours, human centered design, and mobile applications.
Milestones and progress
Established 31 village health committees in the most vulnerable communities by RI and partners
Provided seed fund support to over 31 VHCs for emergency health service access and to save lives in underserved communities without financial hardship.
Trained over 90 Peer educators with a particular focus on sexual and reproductive health.
Reached over 6,000 youth annually with a key SRH message through peer-to-peer education.
Built-up the capacity of over 40 partners staff through continuous medical education for human resource development for heath.
Launched SRHR mobile application “CHANGE” for local youths.
Trained over 60 partner staff members with a particular focus on integrated health communication.
Challenges
The majority of villages in Shan State are geographically isolated, with poor infrastructure and limited access to health care services. Poor education and economic opportunities further exacerbate the challenges faced by residents in these communities. This lack of resources contributes to high levels of poverty and prevents many villagers from accessing basic necessities and opportunities for growth.
With limited access to and resources for health care, the community encountered numerous challenges and barriers to seeking basic health care. They take a three- to four-hour walk over the mountain and river flows to access the basic health care services at nearby health facilities. Moreover, there are not quite enough medical supplies and drugs to receive care at these facilities and lack of resources and long distances to travel create significant delays to delaying receiving timely and adequate healthcare for the community.
Summary
In 2021, our program initiatives will focus on community demand generation activities, working together with our partners to reach the most vulnerable community in Shan. Effectively collaborative approach of the local community, establishment of a community health committee in a remote area, and community capacity building initiatives with the participation of adolescents and youth in an ethnically controlled area. Currently, RI empowers the local ethnic people to be community resilient and fosters the community health committee to take ownership of their sustainable health care and accessible services at their places. By working closely with local leaders, RI ensures that interventions are culturally appropriate and tailored to the specific needs of ethnic minorities.
Author by
Relief International
Takeda program team
Southern Shan