Better health is central to human happiness and well-being. It also makes an important contribution to economic progress, as healthy populations live longer, are more productive, and save more. If health is your concern, we have the best solution for you.
Take a look of the sample proposal. The project objective is to build the capacities and accompany the local media in the mobilization of the general public to take an active part in health governance permanently and use modern media to engage the general public to participate in health governance through an online platform where the results of the evaluation, ranking of hospital institutions including proven cases of fraud, select health programs, etc would be published.
This sample proposal has many project activities and strategies to solve your problem.
Project Summary
The failure of communities to fulfill their responsibilities in the governance of Local Public Hospital Institutions (LPHIs) in Cameroon has resulted in poor governance and a low standard of health service delivery. This failure stems from the fact that the people are not well informed about these responsibilities and are therefore unable to hold LPHIs to account. Community satisfaction with health care services, however depends on their aspirations as fueled by the information they have. The media is charged with the task of educating the masses.
Effective health communication can save lives, prevent the spread of diseases etc. Your Health, Your Say! would make use of communication as a tool for health development to empower the populace of Bamenda 2, to become active participants in the management of local health institutions. By mobilizing the public to stand up actively against malpractices within LPHIs and play an active role in the evaluation of their performances, these institutions would become more efficient, accountable and transparent.
Expected Beneficiaries
Total number of direct beneficiaries = 10 000 persons representing government officials, CRs whose capacities would be reinforced, media practitioners who would be trained and the users of the 5 local public hospital institutions in Bamenda 2 subdivision targeted by YHYS.
The total number of indirect beneficiaries is estimated at over 80 000 persons, being the populace of Bamenda 2 subdivision who are all expected to benefit from the spill offs from the sensitization component of the initiative.
Projective Objective
- Develop and implement systems for
- Whistleblowers – a special group of recruits who would disclose cases of fraud and malpractices within LPHIs;
- The evaluation and ranking (E&R) of LPHIs with feedback from patients/clients within the day-to-day operations of these institutions;
- Build the capacities and accompany the local media in the mobilization of the general public to take active part in health governance permanently;
- Use modern media to engage the general public to participate in health governance through an online platform where the results of evaluation, ranking of hospital institutions including proven cases of fraud, select health programs etc. would be published. This platform will be designed to serve as a rich information platform for health issues and health governance in Bamenda. It will allow the general public to report malpractices using SMSs and by posting online.
Project Activities
Preliminary Activities
- Collection of baseline statistics mainly from the LPHIs;
- Mobilization of project partners through visits to the offices of partners and letters; and
- Preliminary sensitization of the community about the project using local radio stations;
Development of Evaluation and Ranking System
- Consultation visits to stakeholders including government officials, councilors and Community Representatives.
- A 1 day preliminary (planning) meeting by AFCIG staff during which the tools for the evaluation and ranking (E&R) systems would be first drafted;
- A 2 day workshop with experts in health and communication during which the E&R systems will be fully developed.
- A 1 day workshop with the Bamenda District Health Service for the adoption of the E&R system.
Training of Actors
- 2-day training of government officials, District Health Service (DHS) officials, councilors, Community Representatives on health governance and the E&R system (30 persons in total);
- Recruitment of whistleblowers (at least 5 but not more than 10 devoted persons) using questionnaires, interviews administered in hospitals and recommendations;
- Training of whistleblowers on disclosures, confidentiality and security. Whistleblowers will be trained individually to safeguard their identity as a means of contributing to their security;
- 2-day training of Media Practitioners (10 media practitioners from 3 local radio stations) on their role in health governance, health reporting and the E&R system.
Mass Education and sensitization
- Design and production of sensitization materials {Posters (500), brochures (1000), T-shirts (50), Paper Flyers (2500), fliers for bikes (60)}; crossroad banners (2).
- Design and broadcast of radio adverts (to run for 7 days per week and for 2 weeks per month) and program (to take place once every week for 12 months) on health governance;
- Development of online platform – the Public Health Platform through which the general public can reportmalpractices using SMSs and by posting online.
- Close proximity sensitization in public places Sensitization of general public about their role in health governance, the Evaluation and Ranking system, Public Health Platform etc.
- At least 30 bikes would be hired for this purpose. Posters, brochures and T-shirts will be distributed/pasted in public places such as markets and churches.
Implementation of Evaluation and Ranking System
- Roll out of Evaluation system in 5 LPHIs: Community Representatives shall implement E&R ranking systems in 5 LPHIs under the close supervision of AFCIG;
- Compilation and analysis of results: they shall compile and analyze results using tools on which they will be trained.
- Publication of results on radio, in newspapers and on the Public Health Platform.
Four (4) Press conferences shall be held to publicize results and get the media involved; At least 5 evaluations should have been completed by the end of the project and the results made public. Support will be provided to Community Representatives for the first 3 evaluation. The project support will phase out during the two last evaluations as a way to stimulate sustainability, i.e. ensuring that CR are able to carry out evaluation and ranking subsequently on their own.
Monitoring and Evaluation
- Follow up encounters shall be held with individual whistleblowers to fine tune strategies and collect information about malpractices in LPHIs.
- M&E will be geared towards monitoring the level of implementation of the projects activities as per the work plan on the one hand and the assessment of the delivery of outputs and attainment of projects objectives.
- It will consist in a quarterly mission made of desk evaluation and field visit.
- This would result in at least 4 M&E reports which would inform decision making.
Strategic Partner
- The North West Regional Delegation of Public Health would provide administrative clearance needed for the roll out of the evaluation system in LPHIs in Bamenda 2 and mobilize relevant stakeholders;
- The Cameroonian Association for Social Marketing (ACMS) and Radio Hot Cocoa would be AFCIG’s technical partners in the domain of communication for health development. They would provide technical support with respect to the sensitization and mobilization of the general public.
Innovative Element
- Systemic approach to evaluation of LPHIs: The Evaluation System to be put in place within the implementation of YHYS would become an integral part of the day-to-day operations of the targeted LPHIs such that patients/clients would be able to evaluate the quality of service as they are being received, consulted, treated and discharged;
- Ranking system: From the evaluation conducted, LPHIs would be ranked in terms of performance and quality of service delivered to the general public;
- A special group of recruits would be trained on disclosing cases of fraud and malpractices within LPHIs;
- An online system would be developed where the results of evaluation, ranking of LPHIs and proven cases of fraud would be published.
Expected Result
- A strengthened group of 10 media practitioners;
- An active population of about 10 000 persons in health governance who would hold the management of LPHIs to account;
- 15 Community representatives with better capacity to ensure transparency and accountability in LPHIs;
- An online platform where the results of the evaluation and ranking of LPHIs and up-to-date information on public health would be made available.
Project Impact
- A marked improvement in the quality of health service delivery, greater accountability and transparency in target LPHIs;
- Increase in hospital attendance resulting from better quality of service and the fact that the views of the public are being taken into consideration.
- Better health of the general public resulting from mass media sensitization and better quality of health programs on the radio;
- A reduction in incidence of fraud and other malpractices in LPHIs.
Replication
The Organization can be replicated in health districts all across Cameroon. The Organization can be replicated in health districts all across Cameroon. The Evaluation and Ranking System can be integrated in the day-to-day operations of staff of LPHIs including Dialogue Structures and the District Health Service. Whistleblowers can be recruited from existing staff committed to the fight against corruption in LPHIs nationwide. The Public Health Platform can be developed for use at all administrative levels nationwide.
Sustainability
The sustainability of the outputs of YHYS would be ensured through the integration of the Evaluation system into the day-to-day operations of LPHIs. Clients will evaluate the quality of service as they are being received, consulted, treated. Whistleblowers would be existing staff of LPHIs who would be recruited based on their loyalty to the fight against corruption. The Chair of Dialogue Structures would compile evaluations, rank LPHIs and ensure maintenance of the Public Health Platform.
Implementation Strategies
A systemic approach would be used in the implementation of YHYS such that the outputs of the initiative would become permanent structures of the health system in Bamenda 2 subdivision. Use would be made of personnel with in-depth experience in the domain of health governance in Bamenda and the support of technical partners such as ACMS and SNV. A monitoring and evaluation plan would be implemented within YHYS to ensure a timely attainment of objectives.
Use would be made of 2 consultants in the implementation of YHYS. These would be persons who have been involved in the setting up of ranking and evaluation systems including client satisfaction surveys in health districts in Cameroon. They shall provide additional technical assistance in the implementation of all major project activities especially in the domains of training, sensitization, monitoring and evaluation etc.
In addition to these consultants, the design of the E&R system shall be done with the contribution of health and communication experts during a 2 day workshop.
Monitoring and Evaluation
AFCIG would dedicate an independent project team member fully to the monitoring and evaluation of YHYS. The team member would be responsible for conducting evaluations to determine the level of attainment of project objectives as per the YHYS Project Implementation Plan at least once every four months. Additional tools to be used for evaluation and monitoring (M&E) including questionnaires would be designed by the Health and Communication consultants. The monitoring and evaluation reports resulting there from would be used to correct shortfalls and ensure informed decision making.
Success Elements
Success elements would include the number of:
- Community representatives of LPHIs whose capacities are reinforced;
- LPHIs in which an Evaluation System would be successfully implemented;
- Media practitioners trained;
- Number of patients/users of LPHIs taking part in evaluation;
- Staff of LPHIs acting as whistleblowers, the volume of information received from them and the reliability of such information;
- Users of the Public Health Platform, its functionality, and feedback received from users;
The M&E personnel, and the Health and Communication Specialists would design tools to be used to evaluate success during field visits to LPHIs.
