UNICEF Lesotho seeks bids for WASH facility rehab

How can Africa turn community insights and data into stronger health systems? Last week in Kampala, Africa CDC, under the Saving Lives and Livelihoods programme and in partnership with Mastercard Foundation, brought together 13 African Union Member States for a 4-day RCCE Capacity Strengthening Workshop. Participants examined Uganda’s experience in applying social and behavioural insights to strengthen immunisation and health programmes, including: ✅Community Health Extension Workers increasing vaccine uptake and supporting outbreak response. ✅The eCHIS platform linking more than 21,000 community health workers to real-time data. ✅A 24/7 Ministry of Health Call Centre countering misinformation and supporting citizens. By sharing knowledge and innovations, African countries are working towards stronger, more resilient health systems. #NewPublicHealthOrder

It was my honour and privilege to coordinate this knowledge-sharing and capacity-strengthening workshop. In addition to these insights, our Eastern Africa Member States also chose their Regional RCCE Committee Representatives to the Continental Community of Practice, entrusting them with the mandate to support and enhance RCCE and SBC initiatives in the region. How can Africa turn community insights and data into stronger health systems? The conversation continues in the Eastern Africa region and across the four other AU regions as we work together to translate data and community insights into actionable, people-centred solutions that put communities at the heart of our health systems.

I had the privilege of representing UNICEF at the Mid-Term Review of the Boma Health Initiative (BHI) — South Sudan’s flagship community health program. Together with the Ministry of Health under the Health Sector Transformation Project, we’ve expanded BHI to 8,000+ Boma Health Workers and supervisors across 931 Bomas with support from the multidonor trust fund led by The World Bank These frontline workers bring care beyond health facilities, delivering: * Testing & treatment for malaria, pneumonia & malnutrition in under-5s * Zero-dose child identification & referral * Defaulter tracing & safe motherhood support With only 44% of the population able to reach a static health facility due to insecurity and climate shocks, this program is improving access to healthcare, building resilience, and driving equity. Most importantly, it’s empowering County Health Departments to lead coordination — strengthening stewardship and sustainability. Proud to see how community health is transforming access #foreverychild in South Sudan. #ForEveryChild #PrimaryHealthCare #SouthSudan #CommunityHealth #HealthForAll #UNICEF

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and UNICEF Morocco have launched a new five-year partnership to strengthen healthcare services for mothers and children in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra region. The region, which is home to around 2.5 million people – about 7% of Morocco’s population – faces serious health challenges, KOICA noted in a press release. Many families live far from health centers, with 21% of residents more than 10 kilometers away from the nearest primary facility. Read more: t.ly/Jyh2z

We are thrilled to share that our first shipment into Zimbabwe has arrived with our partner International Medical Corps 📦🙌 Right now, Zimbabwe is facing a humanitarian crisis driven by an El Niño–induced drought. ➡️ Food stocks are critically low ➡️ Families are experiencing widespread food and nutrition insecurity ➡️ Cases of gender-based violence are rising ➡️ Limited infrastructure makes access to health services extremely difficult Through our partnership with International Medical Corps, this shipment will provide medical supplies to over 2,200 patients as part of their latest programme and mobile clinics. The programme aims to: 1️⃣ Improve access to nutritious food 2️⃣ Screen & treat acute malnutrition in children 3️⃣ Expand access to essential health services 4️⃣ Activate a Crisis Modifier (an emergency contingency mechanism) Read more about IMC's work in Zimbabwe here👇https://lnkd.in/diwiWZPQ

🌍 Strengthening WASH in Catholic Health Facilities Across Kenya Catholic health facilities in Kenya are spread across vast arid and semi-arid lands, serving some of the most poor and marginalized communities. These facilities are often the only hope for healthcare in hard-to-reach areas — yet they face immense challenges in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). Access to safe water, proper sanitation, and hygiene in healthcare settings is not just about infrastructure — it is about dignity, safety, and saving lives. 🤝 We believe it is time to come together. By collaborating across faith-based organizations, government, private sector, and development partners, we can create sustainable solutions that ensure patients, mothers, children, and health workers receive care in safe, clean, and dignified environments. ✨ Let us join hands to address WASH challenges in Catholic health facilities, especially in poor and marginalized regions. Together, we can make healthcare safer and more resilient for all. #WASH #Healthcare #Collaboration #CatholicHealth #Kenya #Sustainability

Nigeria has been ranked among the countries with the highest road traffic deaths in Africa according to a recent report by the World Health Organisation, WHO, on Road Safety. Full Story👇 https://lnkd.in/dSgKKiAe #CBINewsTV #RoadSafety #Nigeria #Africa #Healthcare #Trending #TREASURE

When development projects end, the improvements can vanish with them. But what if we could strengthen existing government systems instead of bypassing them? Our latest white paper explores our Healthy Village Approach (that combines water, sanitation, nutrition and maternal care to address the interconnected causes of child malnutrition) and Ethiopia's journey to eliminate child stunting by 2030—and how working with government, not around it, achieved remarkable results: 15-18% reductions in stunting and over 1,000 child lives saved. What is essential? Embedding expertise within existing structures, training officials who stay long after projects end and measuring success by the capacity that remains in the system. This is not just about delivering services, it is about building the infrastructure for governments to deliver them independently. Read more on how system strengthening is creating sustainable impact for 120 million Ethiopians and why it is contributing to ending child malnutrition globally.

𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗠𝗔 𝗔𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗘: #PublicHealth With only 0.41 hospital beds and 0.1 physicians per 1,000 residents, Ethiopia lags well behind global standards. These shortages are most acute in remote regions, where poverty, distance, and inadequate infrastructure make access to healthcare difficult. Last year, outpatient visits averaged 1.7 per person. Essential medicines remain sporadic in many rural districts. Read more - https://rebrand.ly/qcn6x6u

🌍 Strengthening Health Systems: A Lesson from Ghana for the World From stock-outs of essential medicines in rural clinics, to health workers stretched thin in urban hospitals, Ghana’s story is not unique, it’s a mirror of global fragilities in our health systems. As a Ghanaian public health strategist, I believe the path to resilience lies in stronger regulation, fairer workforce distribution, and scaling of digital & agile solutions. These are not only Ghana’s priorities, they are global imperatives for the World Health Organization (WHO) and the wider health community. The health of the most vulnerable will always be the truest test of resilience. #HealthSystemResilience #GlobalHealthEquity #BMJGlobalHealth #WHO #UniversalHealthCoverage #Ghanahealthservice