Publications

Health extension workers (HEWs) in Ethiopia have a unique position, connecting communities to the health sector. This intermediary position requires strong interpersonal relationships with actors in both the community and health sector, in order to enhance HEW performance. This study aimed to understand how relationships between HEWs, the community and health sector were shaped, in order to inform policy on optimizing HEW performance in providing maternal health services.

Commentators suggest that there is an erosion of trust in the relations between different actors in the health system in India. This paper presents the results of an exploratory study of the situation of providers in an urban setting in western India, the nature of their relations in terms of trust and what influences these relations. The data on relationships of trust were collected through interviews and focus group discussions with key informants, including public and private providers, regulators, managers and societal actors, such as patients/citizens, politicians and the media.

This study explores how gender matters in small-scale farm power mechanization in African agriculture, particularly in maize-based systems. It investigates how intra-household gender dynamics affect women’s articulation of demand for and adoption of mechanization in Ethiopia and Kenya. The study offers a conceptual approach to grasp these gender dynamics, a gender analysis methodology, and a set of recommendations. The central research question is: How do intra-household gender dynamics affect women’s articulation of demand for and adoption of mechanization?

Value chain development approaches seldom deliver large scale impact. Based on the examination of five cases where impact at scale was realised, recommendations are offered to increase the chances of value chain interventions contributing to impact at scale.

This study sought to synthesize and critically review evidence on costs and cost-effectiveness of community health worker (CHW) programmes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to inform policy dialogue around their role in health systems.

This paper presents the results of a realist evaluation that aimed to understand how, why and under what circumstances a Red Cross (RC) capacity building intervention influences the motivation and the performance of RC community health volunteers involved in the delivery of an immunisation programme in Kampala, Uganda

The Hausas are the largest ethnic group in Northern Nigeria. Traditionally, Hausaland was divided into kingdoms, which were ruled by a Sarki (king or chief) (Wall, 1988). Within Hausaland, a hierarchy of different officials was present, with titles such as SarkinKasuwa (Chief of the market) or SarkinMakafi (Chief of the blind) (Onwuejeogwu, 1999). The emir of the state controls all the Sarakuna (plural of Sarki). Today, the hierarchy of traditional leaders still exists in Northern Nigeria and is influential at the local government level, especially when religious or security matters are at stake (Miles, 1987). It is however unclearwhat influence traditional leaders have on the socio-economic position of persons with disabilities.

On the 14th of December 2015, several representatives of the Post-Ebola
Resilience Consortium met informally at the KIT in the Netherlands. This two year programme was launched during the first Consortium meeting in July 2015 at the Njala University (Sierra Leone). This is the first consultation meeting since the launch of the programme and included the representatives of each of the three Work Packages (WPs).

The aim of the present study is to assess the cost–effectiveness of community-based practitioner programmes with different design features across three countries – Ethiopia, Indonesia and Kenya – in which these initiatives have been implemented to scale.

Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) is a major focus area in South Sudan’s national health policy; the Reproductive Health Strategic Plan (2013-2016) has identified family planning as a key strategy for achieving the nation’s reproductive and public health goals. The strategy includes the launch of a national health and family life education campaign, initiatives to help couples make informed choices, and explicitly to encourage the involvement of men in the process.

Skin diseases are common and cause considerable morbidity worldwide. Lack of awareness of symptoms among the majority of lay people^1,2 and lack of knowledge about skin diseases among first- and second-line health care providers have contributed to underestimations.³ Household surveys (including people not seeking treatment) before 2000 report point prevalence rates of 27%–53%,^2,4,5 while it was 62%–87%^6,7 after 2000. This increase may be due to the rising industrialization in developing countries, or different definitions of skin diseases as suggested by Abdel-Hafez et al.⁶ In Sub-Saharan Africa, population-based studies in primary schools report point prevalence rates of 27% and 74%.^8–11 Community-based studies by Mahé et al¹² and Odueko et al¹³ report that respectively 11.7% and 9.8% of the patients consulted primary health centers with skin-related symptoms.

Many European countries are faced with health workforce shortages and the need to develop effective recruitment and retention (R&R) strategies. Yet comparative studies on R&R in Europe are scarce. This paper provides an overview of the measures in place to improve the R&R of health professionals across Europe and offers further insight into the evidence base for R&R; the interaction between policy and organisational levels in driving R&R outcomes; the facilitators and barriers throughout these process; and good practices in the R&R of health professionals across Europe. The study adopted a multi-method approach combining an extensive literature review and multiple-case study research. 64 publications were included in the review and 34 R&R interventions from 20 European countries were included in the multiple-case study. We found a consistent lack of evidence about the effectiveness of R&R interventions. Most interventions are not explicitly part of a coherent package of measures but they tend to involve multiple actors from policy and organisational levels, sometimes in complex configurations. A list of good practices for R&R interventions was identified, including context-sensitivity when implementing and transferring interventions to different organisations and countries. While single R&R interventions on their own have little impact, bundles of interventions are more effective. Interventions backed by political and executive commitment benefit from a strong support base and involvement of relevant stakeholders.

Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) is a major focus area in South Sudan’s national health policy; the Reproductive Health Strategic Plan (2013-2016) has identified the improvement of access to and utilization of health facilities by all individuals as a key strategy for achieving the nation’s reproductive and public health goals. The strategy focuses on increasing access to and utilization of antenatal care, postnatal care and facility/skilled deliveries .

Community health workers (CHWs) are increasingly recognized as an integral component of the health workforce needed to achieve public health goals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Many factors intersect to influence CHW performance. A systematic review with a narrative analysis was conducted to identify contextual factors influencing performance of CHWs.

This study sought to synthesize and critically review evidence on costs and cost-effectiveness of community health worker (CHW) programmes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to inform policy dialogue around their role in health systems.

Donors are increasingly interested in agricultural growth and economic development. The persistence of poverty in rural areas and the role of agriculture in climate change and food security, has renewed interest in smallholder and family farming for development solutions.