Community Approaches to Child Health in Malawi: - CORE Group
Community Approaches to Child Health in Malawi: - CORE Group
Community Approaches to Child Health in Malawi: - CORE Group
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program, which helps with future work. M<strong>in</strong>istries of <strong>Health</strong> should seek out<br />
C-IMCI programs with excellent results and look for ways <strong>to</strong> scale them up.<br />
6.<br />
Good community-based programm<strong>in</strong>g takes time.<br />
Good community-based programm<strong>in</strong>g takes time <strong>to</strong> engage and understand<br />
the <strong>in</strong>terests of varied stakeholders and then <strong>to</strong> equip them <strong>to</strong> address areas<br />
of shared priority. Even where fund<strong>in</strong>g constra<strong>in</strong>ts limit the scope of possible<br />
activity, it is still important <strong>to</strong> design programs that tap <strong>in</strong><strong>to</strong> shared values and<br />
produce results that the community can see and appreciate. The Care <strong>Group</strong>s<br />
described <strong>in</strong> this paper are an example of a strategy that requires a lot of<br />
groundwork <strong>in</strong> the community—though once well-established, the potential<br />
areas of <strong>in</strong>tervention span beyond even maternal and child health.<br />
All child survival programs face the reality that volunteers expect per diems<br />
and other rewards. But <strong>to</strong> give monetary rewards subtracts from program<br />
funds available for essential programm<strong>in</strong>g, and robs volunteers of the <strong>in</strong>ner<br />
motivation vital for susta<strong>in</strong>able change. So, programs that use volunteers<br />
must set workload expectations that do not <strong>in</strong>terfere with mak<strong>in</strong>g a liv<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
while f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g ways <strong>to</strong> cultivate susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sic rewards that foster<br />
community identity and recognition, rewards that do not end abruptly with<br />
the conclusion of external fund<strong>in</strong>g cycles.<br />
To be effective, community-based<br />
programs must <strong>in</strong>corporate the needs<br />
and <strong>in</strong>terests of local families. Carry<strong>in</strong>g<br />
out sufficient groundwork takes time.<br />
24 <strong>Community</strong> <strong>Approaches</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Child</strong> <strong>Health</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Malawi</strong>