| Multi-Sectoral Approaches
Working with other sectors (such as education, water and sanitation, micro-enterprise, and agriculture) can have profound effects on improving child health, supporting the sustainability of health interventions, breaking down barriers to good health, and building a healthier environment where children can grow and thrive.
The Multi-Sectoral Platform (MSP) is an approach that builds partnerships between the health sector and non-health sectors to improve the impact of child health programming in a way that is more effective, efficient, equitable or sustainable than acting alone, and provides positive benefits for all sectors involved.
Examples of effective MSP efforts tend to fall into one of three approaches:
1. Communicating key family practices and/or extending health services through other sectors. Activities involve using other sectors as channels for health messages and health services thereby providing greater breadth and sustainability. Non-health sectors, through their material, human and financial resources allow the health sector to reach farther and deeper within the community to affect change.
Examples include:
- Incorporating hand washing messages into water and sanitation programs
- Mobilizing community-based or extension workers from various sectors to deliver "health messages" in their communities.
2. Conducting joint activities with non-health sectors to address local key determinants of child health. Joint activities with other sectors that satisfy basic needs can effectively diminish the obstacles to good health, facilitate healthy practices and improve the sustainability of outcomes.
Examples include:
- Increasing water and sanitation programs to address preventable causes of diarrhea.
- Mobilizing income generation efforts to break down the economic barrier to ITN purchase.
- Increasing feeder road infrastructure to break down the physical barrier of accessing clinic services.
- Linking agriculture programs that increase the variety and quantity of food with demonstration of proper preparation of weaning foods.
- Incorporating participatory health education on prevention, care seeking and treatment of childhood diseases into a microcredit program to both improve health status and increase the cost-effectiveness and profitability of the financial services.
3. Working through local government to increase capacity and funding for community health programming. In decentralized settings, local government makes important resource allocation decisions that impact on community child health programming. Building the capacity of local governments to understand health data, prioritize child health, and support community-based interventions is a cornerstone of local health system sustainability.
Examples include:
- Mobilizing community groups to advocate with local government for increased investment in community child health priorities based on local health mortality data.
- Advocating with local government to use tax revenue to support CHW incentives or local funds to develop and support emergency transport services for pregnant women and children in need of immediate care.
How Do I Learn More?
CORE undertook a collaborative effort through literature review, discussion, interviews, and case studies to explore how multi-sectoral approaches are used within community-based child health and development programs and the evidence-base to support that use. The paper "Reaching Communities for Child Health: Advancing Health Outcomes through Multi-Sectoral Approaches" represents the culmination of this work.
Where can I find information on Social Determinants of Health?
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