Chemonics Health’s Post

After six years of concerted efforts to improve healthcare for women and children in Nigeria, the USAID Integrated Health Program - Nigeria funded by USAID is drawing to a close. Hear reflections from IHP's Chief of Party, Marta Levitt, and Deputy Chief of Party, Dr. Gebi, on lessons learned, highlights, and the legacy that IHP will have on the health system in Nigeria for years to come: https://lnkd.in/g5THs47F #Nigeria | #HealthSystems | Palladium: Make It Possible

Over the past few months, I had the privilege of working with brilliant minds, particularly the CEO of New Crystal Group. Our shared goal has been to demystify research, making it accessible to non-academic audiences and shedding light on the rising tide of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Ghana's healthcare landscape. In this issue, we analyze disease trends in Ghana for the first quarter of 2024, with a special focus on the Ashaiman community in Greater Accra. Infectious diseases have long been endemic in our region, but lifestyle changes in diet and work habits have contributed to the increasing prominence of non-communicable diseases. While these conditions were likely present in the past, they may have been underreported or under-researched. Our findings show that hypertension has become the leading cause of hospital visits in Ashaiman, underscoring the need to investigate underlying factors. However, on a regional and national scale, infectious diseases—led by malaria—still dominate, with malaria remaining the top cause of morbidity across the country. We also spotlight New Crystal Group’s initiative to make healthcare more affordable for school-age children in Ashaiman by facilitating the payment and renewal of their national health insurance, ensuring better access to essential services. Stay informed on the top ten diseases currently shaping Ghana’s health landscape. #HealthcareAccess #NonCommunicableDiseases #Malaria #PublicHealthGhana #HealthInsurance #AshaimanHealth #NewCrystalGroup #HealthcareInnovation #CommunityHealth #HealthEquity #GreaterAccra #HealthForAll

Health In All Policies must be strengthened at both city and local government levels to achieve Universal Health Coverage. Read Madam Patience Mamattah's new blog on why this approach is important to achieve health equity: https://lnkd.in/gjaUfHgE #UrbanOctober Ghana Health Service, University of Ghana

🩺Investing in frontline health workers and primary health care has the potential to save millions of lives, according to the Frontline Health Workers Coalition. That’s why the USAID Integrated Health Program - Nigeria, has invested in training nearly 27,000 health workers over the past 5 years across Bauchi, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Ebonyi States, and the Federal Capital Territory to strengthen the health system and build capacity for quality maternal and child health services. Palladium: Make It Possible | USAID | #HealthcareHeroes

Many African Countries committed to investing 15% of their annual budgets to health in the 2001 Abuja Declaration. However, after 23 years, most struggle to even allocate 10% to health. This inadequate financing has led to preventable health challenges, costing human lives across the continent. It's crucial for health rights advocates and governments to step up and address this issue. With only 6 years remaining until the expiry of the #SustainableDevelopmentGoals, there's still an opportunity to make a meaningful impact. The time to act is now.

Public health intervention in some cases requires getting to the targeted population within the shortest possible time. This requires implementing specific public health interventions at the lowest geographic disaggregation level (communities and wards). In some cases, some of these locations may not have well-defined addresses for ease of accessibility and this may also be where the bulk of the target population resides. Microplanning is very critical to the success of any survey or research as it is a more detailed operational plan created to identify and reach the target population. This entails knowing the target population, identifying its hotspots, drilling down to the number of people in the given communities, and information on the available healthcare facilities, and their conditions. This map of Nigeria shows the number of patients registered in health facilities by the Local Government Area (LGA). The hot spot analysis reveals a high concentration of registered patients in the South-East, South-West and South-South regions. This map has told us that more resource deployment will be needed in these zones compared to the others. We can then drill down to determine if supplies can be kept there and provide accessibility planning solutions for entering the community. This way, resources are also properly managed and accounted for and the outcomes are effectively monitored which will ultimately lead to healthcare optimization. #GIS #Publichealth #Microplanning #Hotspotanalysis

Over the past five years, Uganda Health Systems Strengthening (UHSS) has worked with the Ministry of Health to strengthen the country's health systems, despite challenges like COVID-19. UHSS remained relevant by supporting the government of Uganda in ensuring effective, efficient, responsive, and sustainable health systems at the national and subnational levels, resulting in improved leadership and accountability, enhanced resource management, and strengthened community systems. As the country continues to confront complex health challenges, UHSS will leave a lasting legacy of strengthened health systems, empowered communities, and improved health outcomes. Check out our latest video highlighting the incredible journey and achievements of UHSS! #UHSS | #Uganda | #HealthSystems | #Community https://ow.ly/TL6m50TFaiu

Representatives from 17 Sub-Saharan African nations gathered in Rwanda for the WHO Africa regional orientation workshop on enhancing the delivery of integrated child-centered services in the context of Primary Health Care (Dec 10-13, 2024). Ethiopia shared its experience in introducing, implementing and scaling up nurturing care through a variety of health system contact points and its integration into the essential health service package. Furthermore, the lessons learned from its flagship zero-dose strategy in providing integrated services demonstrated that better coordination and integration across health programs and different sectors can enhance child health outcomes.

Strengthening the health system through collaboration is the most effective way of achieving universal health coverage. I believe that the four lessons included in this paper from the Liberia experience in tackling CM-NTDs should be employed in other countries and adapted as the case may be. Liberia became one of the first countries to develop an integrated strategy for case management of NTDs (CM-NTDs), these are the key lessons in their approach to achieving this fit... - Participation of persons affected - Integrating NTDs, mental health, and community health - The partnership between the formal and informal health sectors - Multidisciplinary technical advisory boards Read more by clicking the link... You are part of the community and as such, we must become aware of how we can be part of the change. #BeatNTDs #Mentalhealth #EndNTDs

Strengthening #PublicHealth preparedness and response for public health threats and emergencies like #Mpox and others in #Uganda and across the #Africa region requires resilient #Healthcaresystems. A key component of this resilience is increased #Investment in #LocalPharmaceutical and #VaccineManufacturing capabilities. #Technologytransfer from high-income countries (HICs) to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) can play a transformative role in boosting local production capacities. This ensures timely access to #Essentialmedicines, #Vaccines, and therapeutics during #PublichealthEmergencies. Collaboration, innovation, and sustained investment are vital for building equitable, sustainable #Healthsystems. #GlobalHealth #PharmaceuticalManufacturing #VaccineEquity #HealthSystemStrengthening #OneHealth #TechTransfer #HealthInnovation #MpoxResponse #AfricaHealth #ResilientHealthSystems #Localisation #CSOs World Health Organization UNICEF Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance The Global Fund Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) African Union Development Agency-NEPAD African Union African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention UNDP PATH Infectious Diseases Society of America Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) BioNTech SE BioNTech IMFS Johnson & Johnson CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) International Vaccine Institute (IVI) VACFA - Vaccines for Africa Oxford Vaccine Group African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Unitaid The World Bank medicines for africa (mfa) The Africa Medicines Impact Investment Fund European Union European Commission European Investment Bank (EIB) Wemos UAEM (Universities Allied for Essential Medicines) Aspen Pharma South Africa Bavarian Nordic Pfizer Knowledge Ecology International