Listening to Unheard Voices, Exploring New Possibilities

Concern Worldwide’s experiences inspiring & generating innovative MNCH solutions

Presented by: Donna Espeut, Concern Worldwide US

CORE Group Spring Meeting

11 May 2011

Innovations for MNCH

• Currently spans three countries: Malawi, Sierra Leone, India (State of Orissa)

• Involves moving beyond the status quo by engaging both traditional & non-traditional players in health to generate new & creative health solutions

• UNICEF and Ministries of Health are partners in the initiative.

The Foundation of the Innovations for MNCH Initiative

IDENTIFY the most serious & widespread BARRIERS to delivery of health services for mothers and children

GENERATE hundreds of bold, new and creative IDEAS from diverse & non-traditional sources

SELECT and DEVELOP the best of these IDEAS into models that can be implemented at district level

Analyze, synthesize & actively disseminate the LEARNING from these ideas to influence POLICY, PRACTICE and SCALE UP

Innovations is as much about the process of unearthing innovation as it is about the actual innovations we

will be testing.

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Our Process During the First Phase (2009-2010)

Our Working Definition of “Innovation”

A new approach or practice

A substantial transformation of an existing approach or practice

An application and/or adaptation of a successful approach or practice from a different context

1. Based on research & consultation, we selected one priority MNCH service delivery challenge to serve as the basis for a nationwide Call for Ideas

2. Solicited ideas via competition open to all members of the general public, and selected winning ideas to be pilot tested

Outcomes of the Process

• Almost 13,000 submissions across the 3 countries. (Not all of them were bona fide ideas/solutions.)

• Primarily in the categories of social ‘innovations’ (e.g., elevating the role of communities in health service delivery) –AND- systems ‘innovations’ (e.g., strengthening accountability mechanisms; facilitating the work of health workers; incentive schemes)

• Technological ‘innovations’ mostly entailed use of mobile phone technology & GIS/GPS

Innovative ideas we are currently testing in Malawi

His Idea :Create an SMS-based booking system to minimize waiting times in government health facilities. Also, use mobile technology to send personalized appointment reminders and health tips.

SOYAPISoftware Developer

CLEMENTDistrict AIDS Coordinator

His Idea :Create a 24 hour toll-free hotline. Families can call the hotline for advice based on recognized signs of common illnesses and conditions. For cases that can’t be managed at home, the hotline can facilitate referral.

Innovative ideas from Orissa

DAKTARVocational student teacher from rural village

DISHANTIMother from a remote tribal village; works in road construction and forestry.

His Idea:Recruit & train male health workers to work alongside female health workers in rural villages. This aims to increase the security of the female health workers, enabling them to travel at night to attend to MNCH emergencies. It will also help to engage husbands and fathers to promote MCNH household practices & timely care seeking.

Her Idea: Support Women’s Federations and Self Help Groups as focal entities to monitor and assess health worker performance in tribal areas, as well as facilitate linkages between tribal communities and district-level health facilities.

Innovative ideas we are currently testing in Sierra Leone

VICTORCounsellor with Medecins Sans Frontieres

His Idea: Provide group and individual counselling and training to health workers in order to help them cope with stress and trauma in their professional and personal lives

MUSAStudent from a rural district

His Idea: Use community scorecards to give communities a say in the assessment of health worker performance, and link this to rewards and incentives for health workers

ISHMAELAir traffic controller in Freetown

His Idea: Form “Quality Circles” of health workers to provide peer learning, problem solving and support to one another

What is “innovative?”

We anticipated this:

In reality, many innovations are more like this:

OR EVEN:

In its raw form: Innovation is not necessarily radical and

revolutionary change.

It can be a small change that has the potential to make a radical difference.

A seemingly unremarkable idea (or set of ideas) can be nurtured and developed into something quite remarkable.

Expanding our view of “innovation”

What does it take to inspire & generate richer innovations?

Targeted, in-depth engagement + Diversity

Be much more deliberate in who we engage and how we engage them. Create opportunities for the “gentle collision” of

different people who represent different

backgrounds, perspectives & skills

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A safe space in which creativity can thrive

Playful & fun methods can help people

let their guard down & become

more open to thinking

“outside the box.”

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Clarity re: what is currently being done/has been tried

Patience (& resources) to allow raw ideas to “incubate”

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• Action/experimentation at the grassroots level

• Sharing between different groups (not necessarily bound by geography)

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Getting a glimpse of Innovations in action