By Jennifer Schechter | Executive Director
Summary
Integrate Health works alongside governments and the local community to implement and study an integrated approach to strengthening primary healthcare delivery in order to achieve universal health coverage. This report describes progress made over the past three months, including successes and challenges, as well as outputs, outcomes, and funding metrics. Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you for your support.
Program Highlights
Successes
1. The male peer educator program was launched in the Bassar district. Ten male peer educators were selected, trained, and completed 37 educational talks. These men (two per site) promote family planning in their communities by dispelling common myths and misconceptions and educating men on the benefits of family planning.
2. In April, IH staff and representatives from the Ministry of Health (MOH) conducted joint supervision visits to all sites in the Kara, Kozah, and Bassar districts to observe, discuss and provide recommendations on the work of Community Health Workers (CHWs) and health center providers.
Challenges
1. Due to a slight drop in home visits in the second quarter, the IH program team organized community meetings in the Bassar and Kozah districts. The meetings were designed as an opportunity for IH to listen to the feedback of the community and address any concerns. During this time, IH discovered additional coverage was needed in multiple CHW zones in both districts. In June, IH hired and trained three backup CHWs in response to coverage needs.
Expansion Highlights
Successes
1. The IH program team successfully recruited 41 CHWs for the July expansion to the Dankpen district. Over 20 days in June, all Dankpen CHW candidates were trained in integrated maternal, child and reproductive healthcare delivery. The top 33 CHWs were selected to serve their communities in the Dankpen district following a period of intensive supervision.
2. To prepare for service launch in the Dankpen district, the IH program team organized an initial training for clinical staff from each of the four participating health centers on integrated maternal and child healthcare, assisted delivery, essential care for newborns and mothers, and the use of IH reporting and quality improvement tools. Following the training, each clinic received three-days of additional onsite training and supervision conducted by IH with the MOH.
Challenges
1. The redesigned Medic Mobile application was evaluated in April, however the level of accuracy between data collected on the application and via paper forms was not high enough to enable IH to drop the use of paper backup. The application was revised in June to improve speed and backend access, which IH is hoping will address the ongoing accuracy issues. Further evaluation is ongoing.
Organizational Highlights
Successes
1. In June, IH published, “Implementing an integrated community-based health systems strengthening approach to improve HIV survival in Northern Togo” in partnership with AED-Lidaw and the MOH. The manuscript documented a survival probability of 75% five years after starting antiretroviral therapy among patients enrolled in community-based HIV care.
Challenges
1. IH’s audit of fiscal year 2018 identified areas for improvement in financial systems and processes to keep pace with organizational growth. IH’s newly hired Finance Manager and COO have led these improvements with 9 of 15 recommendations implemented. The remaining six areas are being addressed this month as IH’s Finance Manager visits Togo to update all manuals and train Togo-based staff.
Financial Highlights
Successes
1. IH secured one new funding partnership and received renewal funding from five existing partners this quarter. As a result, we have secured approximately 47% of FY20 projected expenses.
Challenges
1. An application to Johnson & Johnson Africa Innovations was not accepted.
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By Jennifer Schechter | Executive Director
By Jennifer Schechter | Executive Director
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