Find out how we are strengthening the knowledge and skills of civil society organizations to support government's health security programmes.
A workshop to strengthen the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in health security was recently organized by TDDA, in collaboration with the Malian government.
In countries where health systems face multiple challenges and resources are stretched, community participation in health security programmes can provide much-need additional capacity.
Now, with the additional, complex challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to extend the reach of Mali’s health services has never been greater.
Workshop participants were selected through our earlier mapping exercise, which identified CSOs already working in aspects of health security. This work was commissioned by TDDA, in collaboration with the Permanent Secretariat of Mali’s National One Health Platform (NOHP), which coordinates strategy and action across the animal, human and environmental health sectors. The study established the range of activities that were already being carried out by health-related CSOs in the country, as well as demonstrating their potential to do more work in this field.
To unlock this potential, TDDA, along with partners ADHD, organized a four-day capacity-building workshop, which took place from 26th to 30th July, 2021. Chaired by the NOHP’s Permanent Secretary Mrs. Youma Sall, the key objectives of the training were:
to increase CSOs’ understanding of key elements of health security so that they can share this knowledge with their communities.
to build an understanding of the importance of health equity, so that efforts to improve health security are mindful of the need to reach even the most vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalized groups.
to work with CSOs to develop approaches they can use to build trust - by providing adapted and responsive information - and increase community participation in health security interventions.
Strengthening CSOs’ communication skills will be particularly useful in the coming weeks and months, as Mali seeks to implement its COVID-19 immunization programme. Sensitive and respectful dialogue will help to raise awareness of the risks from the pandemic, dispel rumours and overcome vaccine hesitancy. Our workshop participants are now better equipped to carry out this work and prepare the way for vaccinations to be rolled out among targeted, often hard-to-reach groups.
“The knowledge and communication skills gained by our participants will undoubtedly help to improve health security in our country, meeting an immediate need as well as providing lasting benefits”, commented Salif Samake, TDDA’s technical lead who oversaw the workshop.