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Earth Institute and The Merck Company Foundation to Expand Successful Community Health Worker Program in Africa's Millennium Villages

Earth Institute and The Merck Company Foundation to Expand Successful Community Health Worker Program in Africa's Millennium Villages

Published 05-17-11

Submitted by The Earth Institute at Columbia University

With $1 million in renewed support from The Merck Company Foundation, the Millennium Villages project will continue to strengthen its Community Health Worker (CHW) program to address gaps in primary health care availability in sub-Saharan Africa. Initial funding of $869,000 from The Merck Company Foundation launched the first phase of the project in 2009 by establishing a skilled group of health workers throughout the Millennium Villages. The next phase will enhance and promote the success of the CHW program through different methods including leveraging new and existing partnerships with local, regional and national health officials to scale up primary care systems.

"We are extremely grateful for Merck's continued leadership in the Community Health Workers program," said Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute. "This effort reduces the enormous burden of disease and under-nutrition throughout the Millennium Villages in a low-cost and systematic way. And it's working. We've seen significant reductions in maternal and infant deaths as well as disease prevalence in the villages. Merck remains at the forefront of building capacity for health care in the developing world and is helping to make a dramatic impact."

"Community Health Workers are a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people who otherwise would not have access to health care," said Dr. Prabhjot Singh, Director, Program for Health Systems and Community Health Worker Advisor to the Millennium Villages project. "All over sub-Saharan Africa, sophisticated networks of community members are mobilizing on a very large scale and are empowered to interact with people in surrounding communities, serving as the main link between rural households and health care systems. Keeping CHWs engaged and equipped with the tools they need to do their job is critical."

In the next phase, a mid-tier group of Senior Community Health Workers will be trained in supervision and performance evaluation strategies to enable them to assist managers with local operational oversight, and to provide direct performance feedback to CHWs, as part of a strong system of quality assurance. Capacity-building measures will also include specific training for CHW managers on supplies surveillance, budgeting, and strategic planning, as well as an analysis to uncover how to most effectively allocate limited resources to support job retention and performance.

"The Merck Company Foundation is committed to pursuing innovative programs to increase access to health care for low-income populations," said Ellen W. Lambert, executive vice president, The Merck Company Foundation. "This Community Health Worker program moves us closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals for child and maternal health and the reduction of HIV, malaria and other endemic diseases in rural Africa by 2015. Working with organizations like the Earth Institute is key to improving health care in resource-limited areas."

Another component of the program is the improvement of service delivery through informed decision-making processes and rigorous information feedback loops among communities, clinics, and management systems. CHW program organizers plan to implement the ChildCount+ mobile platform, a technology which allows CHWs to track and monitor information on child and maternal health and common disease treatment cases, and informs the design and implementation of MVP-wide protocols for community health workers based on best practices.

To take full advantage of these efforts, the MVP team will incorporate the outcomes of the initial CHW successes and its most recent scale-up efforts into policy recommendations and national implementation guides for each of the 10 countries where Millennium Villages are located. In addition, the MVP team will engage the national Ministries of Health to foster health policy dialogue as a bridge to long-term, sustainable in-country support for MVP activities.

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The Earth Institute, Columbia University
The Earth Institute is the world’s leading academic center confronting the practical challenges of sustainable development. Our core activities include educating and training the next generation of global leaders, advancing scientific research, and implementing practical solutions to create a more sustainable world. For more information, visit www.earth.columbia.edu"¨

The Merck Company Foundation
The Merck Company Foundation is a U.S.-based, private charitable foundation. Established in 1957 by Merck, a global healthcare leader, the Foundation is funded entirely by the company and is Merck's chief source of funding support to qualified non-profit, charitable organizations. Since its inception, The Merck Company Foundation has contributed more than $600 million to support important initiatives that address societal needs and are consistent with Merck's overall mission to help the world be well. For more information, visit www.merckcompanyfoundation.org.

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The Earth Institute at Columbia University

The Earth Institute at Columbia University

By blending scientific research, education and practical solutions, The Earth Institute at Columbia University, is working to help guide the world onto a path toward sustainability.

Under the direction of Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, comprises more than 30 research centers and some 850 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, staff and students. Our experts work hand-in-hand with corporations, government agencies, and individuals to create solutions for problems in public health, energy, ecosystems, climate, natural hazards and urbanization.

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