PRB

(June 2016) Population, Health, and Environment (PHE) program implementers are increasingly considering how to best scale up their efforts. This webinar featured Pathfinder International staff who work on the Health of People and the Environment in the Lake Victoria Basin (HoPE-LVB) project, who spoke about leveraging advocacy and “beginning with the end in mind” to scale up and institutionalize their PHE project (PHE) in East Africa. The webinar was co-hosted by Population Reference Bureau (PRB) and the community of practice on Systematic Approaches for Scale Up of Family Planning/Reproductive Health Best Practices, led by Evidence to Action (E2A). PRB has provided technical assistance to HoPE-LVB on advocacy and capacity building since 2012.

Since 2011, HoPE-LVB has been working to model and extend their PHE approach to address the interrelated challenges that marginalized, rural communities in Uganda and Kenya face. HoPE-LVB addresses food security, unmet need for family planning, environmental degradation, high risk of maternal and infant mortality, water and sanitation, and lack of economic/livelihood opportunities. HoPE-LVB reaches underserved communities with much needed information and services in an integrated way.

Kristen P. Patterson of PRB and Stembile Mugore of E2A welcomed participants to the webinar. Pamela Onduso of Pathfinder International provided a comprehensive overview of how HoPE-LVB began with the end in mind: They considered the role of advocacy and scale-up plans in the initial design phase of the project. Next, Charles Kabiswa, Millicent Kodande, Antony Omimo, Caroline Nalwoga Ssekikubo, and Dorah Anita Taranta—all HoPE-LVB staff implementing the project in Kenya and Uganda—answered questions moderated by Laura Ghiron of ExpandNet. They spoke about some of the factors that have been critical to uptake and scale up of the PHE approach, such as careful design of the project, local and subnational advocacy, and effective monitoring and evaluation. The webinar concluded with ample time for interactive Q&A from webinar participants.

The webinar is the second in the quarterly series of Africa PHE webinars implemented under the Policy, Advocacy, and Communication Enhanced for Population and Reproductive Health (PACE) Project.

For regular updates about PHE news, opportunities, resources, and other events, sign up for the Africa PHE Updates newsletter via AfricaPHE@prb.org and follow @AfricaPHE on Twitter. To join the scale-up community of practice, please go to: https://knowledge-gateway.org/scale-up.