Community Based Monitoring. Community-Based Monitoring is a unique component of CLICS and a major contributor to its principle of information equity, which is graphically presented in Figure 4 (see Annex 1). The VCC has assumed the role of monitoring maternal and child health activities at the village level. A format for Community-Based Monitoring has been developed for the use by VCCs and information support is provided by the CLICS Doot as well as the village AWW. The VCC tracks the status of malnutrition, immunization, ANC, the need for Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC), and transportation to health facilities and other services. This information is shared at VCC meetings and decisions are taken on any action required. The final evaluation team’s interaction with VCC members was heartening. The VCC members felt empowered and motivated to mobilize the local Panchayat, CBOs ,and community to take action on behalf of the village residents. Availability of health information on each family, child, and pregnant woman in the village enables them to identify priorities, establish plans, and implement the program effectively. They wanted, needed, and used the data.
Community Based Monitoring will enable Indigenous communities to design, lead, and execute monitoring programs that address their concerns related to potential effects from oil sands development to augment Long Term and Focused Monitoring programs.
Community Based Monitoring. GHANAQ will work with partners to adapt/establish a practical, de-centralized, community- based monitoring system to address information needs in an area with limited access to health services (i.e. average of 15 km to a health facility, apparent misreporting of childhood deaths, underreporting of maternal deaths, and little or no reporting of ARI cases). This approach will help to ensure community ownership and accountability of the program. The system will provide a hands-on way to increase understanding of community health status and needs. Because the system will be designed to provide useful information and will directly lead to improved performance, the resulting sense of value that will result will lead to its own likelihood of sustainability. Specific elements of GHANAQ’s community based monitoring system include: • CHWs and selected community members will be trained and supported in the use of PLA (Participatory Learning Approach) techniques in order to develop and maintain a CBM system. • Monitoring of CHPS implementation to xxxxxx trust between MOH and the community and to instill in community a sense of participation in process (see SR2.3.1). The system will monitor health status, events, key emphasis behaviors/household practices, registration of births and deaths and reporting of ARI cases. The system will include routine CHW outreach results and the use of simple algorithms for structured, purposeful visit outcomes, such as for neonatal/postpartum visits within 2 days of delivery. PCI will be creative in its adaptation and use of user-friendly tools and processes that have already proven effective at community level. For example, the MCH Calendar used in PCI’s program in Nicaragua is a tool that CHWs use as a job aide to help mothers track important childhood illness and child care events. Mothers are instructed and trained to document such events by marking the calendar as the events occur and, by doing so, to monitor the health of her child. Through the calendar, and other forms of education, many of the 16 emphasis behaviors can be reinforced. It is envisioned that GHANAQ staff and partners will be learning more about effective techniques, tools and indicators related to community-based monitoring from CSTS and the CORE Group’s M&E Working Group, among others).
