Building locally led community health program to optimize health equity and ensure sustainable and resilient community health system in Africa: Lesson from IFRC global community health program

The continued health disparities and the recent public health challenges including COVID-19 pandemic and epidemics have highlighted for the need of more resilient community-based health system in Africa and beyond. Robust evidence is crucial by examining the lessons learned during practice of community-based health programs to build locally led better community health systems in Africa. We will organize evidence using the experience of International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and National societies (NS)in community health program in Africa. We will conduct a Key Informant Interviews (KII) with a total of twenty public health experts from the five African CDC regions and review of existing documents of community program reports. Thematic analysis will be conducted. Expected result include key results of community-based health program; the barriers to and facilitators of effective and localized community-based health programs; the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the program; and key lessons and recommendations to date from the program. The result will be disseminated in multiple ways including presentation and publication. This study will contribute to the effort to build locally led better community health systems in Africa to address the current health gaps and future pandemics. This study will inform CRC’s and IFRC’s work to support NS engagement for more localized and effective community-based health program. This project will enhance the knowledge and the skill of the poste doctoral fellow.

Faculty Supervisor:

Josephine Etowa

Student:

Partner:

Canadian Red Cross (Ottawa, ON)

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology; Other services (except public administration)

University:

University of Ottawa

Program: