More than 400 individuals from 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and 59 international partner organizations gathered in Accra, Ghana at the beginning of March for an Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) Evidence Review Symposium. The three day event included presentations on current CCM programs and survey results, key findings in eight thematic areas, tool sharing tables, and breakout sessions for countries to develop action plans.
The SC4CCM project was excited to lead the supply chain sessions and to share many of our lessons learned from testing interventions in three countries over the past four years. The panel began with an introduction to the three categories needed for a successful community-level supply chain – product flow, data flow, and effective people. A variety of country examples were then shared with a focus on each of these categories. Rohit Ramchandani from ColaLife presented on the Kit Yamoya in Zambia as an example of product flow in a private sector supply chain. Two examples of data flow were shared depending on the session. Humphreys Nsona from the Malawi Ministry of Health spoke about cStock and Timoteo Chaluco of Village Reach Mozambique shared their experience using ODK scan. The final category of effective people included a presentation on problem solving teams and CHW motivation given by SC4CCM’s Patrick Nganji on behalf of the Catherine Mugeni of the Rwanda Ministry of Health.
At the supply chain tool sharing table, symposium participants were able to see examples of many of the tools that SC4CCM has developed along with our MOH colleagues. Examples included the magic calculator used in Rwanda, cStock dashboard from Malawi, Quantification for CCM guide, and the Manager’s Tool to Improve Community Health Supply Chains.
UNICEF and SC4CCM co-sponsored an evening discussion session entitled, “Optimal Products & Quantification for iCCM: Product Selection as a Strategy to Enhance Use and Product Availability Among CHWs.” Attendees watched a video describing the important of quantification for CCM and learned about the process UNICEF uses to develop CCM-specific products. The session ended with participants looking at actual examples of CCM-specific products and discussing their own experiences with product selection.
Along with the full days of presentations, there was plenty of time for informal discussions on the project’s work with individuals from many countries and organizations that are implementing CCM programs.
SC4CCM looks forward to the upcoming special supplement in the Journal of Global Health that will include articles on many of the topics discussed.
All of the presentations as well as lessons learned documents for each thematic area and other resources are available on the iCCM Evidence Review Symposium website.
