Module 3: Community Health Programming
To download presentations in .pdf format or to participate in discussions about this training series, visit READY’s discussion forums (free registration required).
Foundational Sessions
These sessions provide an introduction to Community Health Programming concepts and how to adapt them to the exigencies of COVID-19, including prioritizing essential health services, the role of Community Health Workers, and caring for particularly vulnerable and high-risk groups. (5 sessions)
Session 1: Introduction to Community Health Programming
What is community health programming? In this session, Donatella Massai, Senior Technical Lead for READY, defines key elements of CHP and the necessary adaptations for mitigating the transmission of COVID-19 at the community level. Donatella also examines applications of CHP in varied contexts, and the related challenges.
Session 2: Prioritization of Essential Community Health Services
Now more than ever, organizations are being forced to prioritize the community services they provide. In this session, Research Associate Daniella Trowbridge from the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health reviews how to prioritize essential services during COVID-19, and the related actions for differing humanitarian contexts. Daniella will also introduce some of the key adaptations to consider when modifying CHP activities for COVID-19.
Session 3: Role of the Community Health Worker in COVID-19
As the role of the Community Health Worker continues to evolve over the course of the pandemic, particularly where engagement with communities must be minimized, where can they be the most effective? This session examines Community Health Worker activities during COVID-19, and the adaptations necessary to ensure their role is safe and effective at minimizing COVID-19 transmission.
Session 4: Care for Vulnerable and High-Risk Individuals
Who is at risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes in humanitarian settings? This session reviews who is the most vulnerable, and addresses the challenges in caring for these groups. The session also touches on accompanying activities, such as preparing a household and training caregivers when there is a mild or suspected case of COVID-19.
Session 5: Cross-Cutting Considerations
This foundational session provides an overview of several cross-cutting sectors, including gender, mental health, and others; the impacts of COVID-19 on these sectors; and specific actions to integrate these sectors into community-level activities. This session also reviews the linkages between the three modules of this training series, and reemphasizes the centrality of the community in the larger COVID-19 response.
Expert Interviews
These videos highlight real-life programmatic application of IPC and WASH concepts. Technical experts and program delivery staff give concrete, experience-based examples of IPC and WASH implementation. (3 interviews)
Interview 1: Community Health Programming in the Rohingya Refugee Camps
In this interview, we hear from Sarah Collis, Health Programme Manager for UK-Med in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Sarah shares her experience in the Rohingya camps, where she led UK-Med in opening an isolation and treatment center and organizing community case management. Sarah also describes the implementation of this project, and specifically touches on some of the successes and challenges with keeping the community engaged.
Interview 2: COVID-19 Adaptations to Community Health Programming for Migrant Populations
Kit Leung, from the International Organization for Migration, shares her experience in adapting existing migrant programming to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kit emphasizes how adapting specific community health programming was key to providing a continuum of care to beneficiaries, and describes IOM’s effort to integrate different sectors to meet the needs of the communities they serve.
Interview 3: Community Health Program Adaptations: From Ebola to COVID-19
Dr. Linda Mobula, Senior Health Specialist from the World Bank, shares her experience working in Community Health Programming during the Ebola epidemic in DRC, and how those lessons learned can translate to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Mobula concludes with three key takeaways for NGOs to consider for their community health programming.
Tools and Additional Learning Resources for Module 3: Community Health Programming
- LSHTM: COVID-19 control in low-income settings and displaced populations: what can realistically be done? (March 2020)
- WHO: Home care for patients with suspected novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection presenting with mild symptoms, and management of their contacts: interim guidance (February 4, 2020)
- WHO: Clinical management of COVID-19 interim guidance (May 27, 2020)
- IASC: Briefing Note about MHPSS aspects of COVID-19 (March 4, 2020)
- WHO: Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak (March 18, 2020)
This website is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). READY is led by Save the Children in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, UK-Med, EcoHealth Alliance, and Mercy Malaysia. Site contents are the responsibility of READY and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
