Coronams https://coronams.taqpageant.com Corona Management Systems Thu, 27 Apr 2023 15:51:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 230697181 A story from the front-lines: A Task Shared, a Problem Solved https://coronams.taqpageant.com/a-story-from-the-front-lines-a-task-shared-a-problem-solved/ Tue, 04 Apr 2023 02:49:14 +0000 https://coronams.taqpageant.com/?p=575
Imagine a system where a shortage of specialized health personnel does not necessarily mean that people are denied access to essential health services. A system where people seeking health services can confidently walk into a health facility, and be guaranteed that at least one of the health workers available will have the skill set to attend to their needs. This is the benefit of the Task Shifting and Task Sharing policy, a policy which aims increase effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of essential health services by maximizing the available human resources for health. In Bayelsa State, the work towards guaranteeing essential health services is no longer just an idea, but has become policy. This is so far a success story, that has seen tremendous stakeholder consensus among Doctors, Nurses, Midwives, Laboratory Scientists, Pharmacists, Community Health Workers and a number of other allied health workers on key essential health services that can be shifted and shared, to ensure that women and girls, and communities can have access to the services they need. The beauty of the Task Shifting and Task Sharing policy is how it seamlessly bridges the gap between health professionals who have been trained over longer periods of time, and health professionals who have been trained for shorter periods, allowing them to shift and share tasks, whilst working collaboratively to guarantee the quality of care for these essential health services. A smooth implementation of the policy of course requires training, mentorship, and supportive supervision, and the policy document itself includes an actual plan for the conduct of these activities that preserve quality of care and at the same time ensure access to essential health services.

Following months of negotiation between all the different cadres of health workers, the relevant regulatory councils, government agencies, partners, women groups and community representatives, Bayelsa State has taken a giant leap on the road to Universal Health Coverage and improved health outcomes through task shifting. With the wide array of stakeholders, all pursuing a common interest – the health and wellbeing of women, girls and whole communities – it is obvious that the importance of this mission cannot be overemphasized.

Even more satisfying than the process of developing this policy, are the rewards of this policy: availing hands that are capable of absorbing the effects of a global and local shortage of health workers, which consequently improves the health outcomes. Gains like these are responsible for thriving societies where preventable maternal and child deaths are at their lowest rate. For Bayelsa, services like routine antenatal care and routine uncomplicated deliveries, basic and emergency life-saving interventions, early and essential care for newborns and provision of family planning services are among these essential services that the State and the health professionals have all agreed to shift and share, for the good of women, girls and whole communities.

Corona Management Systems are proud to have provided technical support for Bayelsa State, to midwife this globally recommended solution and deliver visionary policy with the potential to preserve gains in reducing preventable maternal and child deaths in Nigeria and around the world. We look forward to continuing to support and hold Government accountable for the implementation of this policy, for our women, girls and whole communities.

]]> 575 A story from the frontlines: Lights. Camera. Action! https://coronams.taqpageant.com/a-story-from-the-frontlines-lights-camera-action/ Mon, 03 Apr 2023 08:47:26 +0000 https://coronams.taqpageant.com/?p=548

Mama Koko is a 36-year old rural fisherwoman and a mother of 2 kids, who live in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. The Niger-Delta region, home to thousands of communities with extractive industries is one of Nigeria’s most deprived regions. It is faced with poverty, environmental contamination from oil spills, poor health-seeking behavior, and very poor geographical accessibility to health services. A few months ago, Mama Koko lost her 3rd baby to Tetanus 20 days after the boy was born. A death that could have prevented through vaccination.

 

Every year in Nigeria, thousands of kids die from diseases that vaccines can prevent. Out in the blossoming cities, access to and utilization of prenatal and postnatal care for a mother and her child is often not a point of concern. But in the creeks and in the communities strewn across the delta, the story is different for Mama Koko, many mothers like her, and their children.

Corona Management System (CMS) is leveraging the power of story-telling to change this!

A future not guaranteed

“The health workers tell me that my baby died of Tetanus and that vaccination would have saved him”

Mama Koko

Africa has a history steeped in Story-telling. For decades, we have faced up to the challenges of HIV/AIDS and Gender-based violence through story-telling. We have also addressed reconciliation post-genocide through story-telling. And now, we are working with women and girls in local communities to co-create, prototype, collect feedback, iterate, and perform plays that tell thousands of stories of women and children so that communities can demand vaccination services as a right and utilize these services fully.

 

Mama Koko’s greatest regret was not knowing about tetanus and the vaccine that she could have taken during her pregnancy to prevent her baby from getting. Through Community Theatre, we leverage the power of real stories to increase awareness, build trust, motivate communities, and support efforts to make doing the right thing, the easiest thing. Imagine Mama Koko and women like her working with us to co-create content, that educates and amplifies the positive stories that can increase demand for vaccination. Imagine watching women in communities, home from fishing and the market, gathered at the community center, watching Mama Koko and other community members act out their story

Visiting fisher women in the Creeks in the Niger-Delta
In communities in the Niger-Delta, in Yenagoa, Ekeremor, and in Ahoada-West, we are working with the leadership of the health system, the community leaders, the health workers, and community members to create and perform theatre to increase demand for vaccination services. Through community theatre, we are putting communities back at the center of primary healthcare service delivery by strengthening their involvement in vaccination services as an entry point to the entire health and well-being of the community. Mama Koko has lived the worst experience and she is the right person to tell her story. Let her story, reshape the world for millions of other women and children!
]]> 548 Community Theatre for Immunisation https://coronams.taqpageant.com/community-theatre-for-immunisation/ Sun, 02 Apr 2023 23:16:22 +0000 https://coronams.taqpageant.com/?p=444

Background

Although several supply-side factors are frequently enumerated as contributing factors to low coverage in Nigeria, weak demand for Immunisation and poor community linkage for Immunisation are significant demand-side constraints. Despite demonstrable evidence of vaccine availability, implementation of fixed and outreach sessions, and numerous Immunization campaigns, low demand for Immunisation services are a key contributor to the numbers of un-immunised children in the country. Even as community involvement helps address both supply and demand-side factors, it can be especially critical to generating demand for Immunisation services.

Our Intervention: Community Theatre using a Human Centered Design

We commenced an engagement of caregivers and communities on Vaccine-Preventable Diseases & Immunisation, using community theatre that showcases real stories. The content for the theatre was developed with the communities, using a human-centered design. Our proposed idea is intended to empower caregivers to seek and fully utilise immunisation services, by engaging caregivers and communities on Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, Immunisation and Social Determinants of Health, using community theatre that showcases real stories.

Communities were and continue to be engaged to take the lead in identifying some of the demand side challenges and barriers to demanding immunisation, such as Adverse Events Following Immunisation, awareness on the routine immunisation schedule, awareness on availability of sessions and knowledge about Vaccine Preventable Diseases. These topics then form the foundational issues around which the content of the drama and theatre performances are co-created with the communities. Additionally, drama series are co-created on income level and educational level of caregivers, and how these drive interactions with immunisation services.

 

Our Intervention engaged with Government stakeholders of two States and three Local Government areas Our intervention engaged with Government stakeholders of two States and three Local Government Areas (LGAs), to introduce the project to them. Initial engagements included key informant interviews of decision-makers and mid-level managers of the immunisation and primary health care programmes in these locales. The results of these interviews complemented desk reviews of existing national and state immunisation programme reports, to help provide local context of the immunisation programme and highlight both the demand-side challenges and current approaches to solving the problems. Focus activities at this level were the planning and review meetings, held at both State and LGA levels, working in sub-groups with these key stakeholders.

 

The community theatre here is being used to stimulate social change by showcasing to the audience key aspects of immunisation, with the participants identifying issues of concern and discussing through the possible solutions, whilst enhancing tolerance for different perspectives on the same problem. The plays are performed in public places like Markets, in traditional meeting spaces in a community dialogue setting, in schools and in religious houses, inviting a wide array of audiences to watch including caregivers. The plays are also recorded, for potential airing in local theatres & on television.

 

This idea is different because it incorporates a human-centered design, in the development of the community theatre. It also designed to have a cast of community members with real experiences and supported by theatre professionals, as opposed to professional actors playing roles. The intervention builds on existing evidence on the role of theatre in increasing awareness on key health and social issues. It also dovetails into the current National drive of assessing the effect of Immunization interventions using Quarterly Lots Quality Assurance Sampling surveys, which allow disaggregation to the level of the communities and allow monitoring of interventions.

 

This innovative intervention is majorly testing the hypothesis that caregivers will demand immunization services as a right, if they are engaged through a human-centered process of trust building, education and social support. It builds on documented evidence and best practices of community engagement and demand generation, whilst innovatively introducing a different design model

Outcomes and Progress

This intervention is in its eighth month of implementation in Bayelsa and Rivers States. In implementing this idea, we work with sub-national expanded program on immunization teams, and Community Health Committees, Women Groups, Traditional and Religious leaders in target localities. These stakeholders are involved in the iteration, design, implementation and supervision of the strategy. This has so far ensured that the strategy is enshrined in current sub-national strategies to scale up Immunization in those localities. The first round of assumptions has been completed tested, with new iterations conducted based on the outcomes of the testing of these assumptions. An initial 24 communities have been identified and preliminary focused group discussions have been conducted, and the first rounds of co-creation of theatre content have been completed in target communities.

From the gallery

]]> 444 Nigeria Malaria Modelling Fellowship https://coronams.taqpageant.com/nigeria-malaria-modelling-fellowship/ Sat, 01 Apr 2023 14:29:39 +0000 https://coronams.taqpageant.com/?p=423

NMMF

Nigeria Malaria Modelling Fellowship

Mathematical modelling is an important tool in the field of infectious disease control. It includes formulating mathematical equations to explain how infectious diseases propagate through populations. Researchers can learn more about how diseases spread and how various preventative strategies may affect disease transmission by examining these models.

The Nigeria Malaria Modelling Fellowship (MMF) is an initiative to build the mathematical modelling capacity of public health professionals in Nigeria. The Fellowship will expose participants to a comprehensive curriculum that includes core modelling content, in-depth knowledge of malaria epidemiology including transmission dynamics, and adjunct modules crucial to enhancing their careers and equipping them with in-demand modelling competence. Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the Fellowship is a collaborative effort between Corona Management Systems (CMS), National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), and the World Health Organisation (WHO).   

 The fellowship is aimed at:

  • Increasing the number of doctoral and post-doctoral-level trained mathematical modelers with malaria expertise based at Nigerian institutions
  • Increasing the capacity of the National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP) on modelling approaches as a tool that can support strategic planning and evaluation.
  • Increasing the capacity of the National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP) on modelling approaches as a tool that can support strategic planning and evaluation
Overview

Who is it for

What you’ll learn

Where it can take you

Schedule

Who is it for

What you’ll learn

Where it can take you

Programme Support
Location
Apply to this Program
HAVE A QUESTION?
Please Contact us by: Email: support@mmf.coronams.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this training an online or in-person training?

The fellowship is a hybrid training that combines online and in-person participation. Applicants will be required to complete self-paced courses on a learning management system and attend in-person training in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

How much is tuition for this fellowship?

The MMF is fully funded, and fellows will get logistical assistance to attend in both physical and online sessions, with specific support for female fellows with children less than 18 months.

How long does the fellowship last?

The fellowship is anticipated to take ten months to complete at an advanced level. The fellowship provides three levels of competency with a total of 640 notional hours: beginner (310 hours), intermediate (505 hours), and advanced (640 hours).

Can I take the different levels of the fellowship at different times?

Your advancement through the fellowship is entirely up to you, while we encourage you to do so in order to be accredited with advanced skill in Mathematical Modelling.

How and when will I take my Aptitude test?

After submitting your application, you will be required to schedule your aptitude test within 7 to 10 days. Your aptitude examination will be administered using an internet enabled computer at your convenient location. You will be expected to finish the questions within a specified amount of time.

Is the fellowship available to non- Nigerian residents?

This is a Nigeria-focused fellowship, and only Nigerians residing in the country are eligible to apply.

Will I be expected to apply for study leave during the duration of this fellowship?

Fellows are expected to be actively employed and or affiliated with a one-health focused government institution and will not require study leave. It is anticipated that the fellow will add the fellowship-gained skills and knowledge to his or her present portfolio.

What type of courses is the fellowship offering?

The Fellowship is offering Modules in Malaria & Epidemiology, Mathematical Modelling including the use of mathematical tools and programme language, and Project Management & Evidence translation that will feature soft skills in scientific writing.



]]> 423 Technical Support for Saving One Million Lives Program for Results https://coronams.taqpageant.com/technical-support-for-saving-one-million-lives-program-for-results/ https://coronams.taqpageant.com/technical-support-for-saving-one-million-lives-program-for-results/#comments Tue, 07 Mar 2023 22:01:25 +0000 https://coronams.taqpageant.com/?p=1

Background

Program for Results (PforR) supported the Federal Government of Nigeria’s existing Saving One Million Lives (SOML) initiative, by providing incentives based on achievements of results (health outcomes) and helping to drive institutional processes needed to achieve these results. PforR uses country systems and processes, giving health managers substantial autonomy in managing and producing health results. States receive credit sums, as incentives for improved performance under the various Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs). States get rewarded for improvements in performance from their own baseline. The SOML PforR Program Development Objective is to increase utilization and quality of high impact reproductive health, child health and nutrition interventions. SOML PforR is not a parallel or separate program, but is instead a program leveraging existing efforts of States, potentiating existing commitments and strengthening existing systems.

Our Support focuses on enabling States to strengthen community structures, improve governance systems, and take up technology as a tool for continuous data collection, all targeted at improving the overall strategy of State interventions that drive results across the six pillars of the Program for Results. The available support also strengthens Program Conceptualization, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of Public Health Programs that target improvements in outcomes across improving maternal, newborn & child health, improving routine immunization coverage & achieving polio eradication, elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV, scaling up access to essential medicines & commodities, Malaria control and improving Child nutrition.

The support looks to drive increment in percentage points for States across six quantitative indicators, thirty-four quality of care indicators and five performance management and governance indicators. Our support helps States make the most money that they can, from the world bank funding source, through increments across these indicators.

Our role in its entirety is to provide technology and technical support for the State to strengthen its health system and improve health outcomes, through improving monitoring and evaluation systems and data utilization, and through increasing the utilization of high impact Reproductive and Child health and Nutrition Interventions.

Our support to the Bayelsa State Saving One Million Lives Program for Results has been active since 2017, and has contributed to the State earning $1.5M and $960,000 in year 1 and in year 2 of our support. This support has focused on providing technical assistance to drive use of available resources through the internationally recommended Systems Thinking approach to developing and strengthening the State’s health system. This Systems Thinking has ensured that all human, material and financial resources committed to the sector have been channelled through the Health Systems building blocks, towards establishing a resilient and responsive health system in a bid to achieve universal health coverage for the people of Bayelsa State.

The Systems Thinking approach has also been built on a foundation of integration, including integration of systems level interventions as well as the integration of the delivery of services. Key evidence of these success has included improved governance frameworks in the health system in the State, including the eventual establishment of a State Primary Healthcare Board driven by the SOML PforR program, with full implementation of primary healthcare under one roof. There has also been a drastic improvement in the use of data for action within the health system catalysed by SOML PforR through the technical consultative group and steering committee meetings. There have been some service delivery gains, especially in the areas of Child Health and Child Survival, and key improvements in the participation of communities in the delivery of health services.

Bayelsa State, with our technical support boasts one of the most effective approaches to using SOML PforR resources in strengthening its health system, especially in the presence of very limited other funding for health systems strengthening during the period under review from 2017 to 2020. The focus is to dovetail these systems strengthening wins even further into the implementation of the State Strategic Health and Development plan. Intervention is also about to commence in Edo and Imo States.

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