If you are responsible for—or engaged or interested in—advancing social/community participation in health (SPH) in your local area, this resource was developed for you. There are a variety of resources available on how to organise SPH, but there is limited guidance on how to evaluate its effectiveness. This publication aims to fill that gap. It is thus not about how to implement SPH, but rather how to evaluate SPH efforts. The Resource outlines how to conduct a baseline assessment, creating a critical reference point at the start of the SPH intervention to plan work and enable you to track changes as they are achieved. It guides you in carrying out a performance evaluation, to assess how well the SPH intervention is performing during implementation, for you to review and make any 'course corrections' needed. Finally, it explains how to conduct an outcome or impact evaluation, assessing the changes achieved, directly and indirectly, as a result of the SPH intervention. The use of the Resource is being piloted in 2022, so if you are interested, please get in touch. .
Useful Resources
This guide sets out the legal responsibilities of South African local government and our rights under the Constitution and in law. It shows how to engage government from inside, by participating in formal processes, and from outside by going public through complaints, petitions, protest action, the media and the courts.
Malaria Journal is a peer-reviewed open access journal that publishes original research papers on all aspects of malaria. The journal is edited by Marcel Hommel and a broad-based international editorial board. Malaria Journal has now published 24 articles, all of which you can freely access over the internet. Take a moment to browse the latest articles and consider sending your next manuscript to them.
On World Malaria Day the World Health Organisation (WHO) released a publication entitled "Malaria Prevention Works". Filled with eye-catching infographics, it presents WHO's recommended malaria prevention tools in a simple and digestible manner. It is divided into two parts: the first chapter focuses on core vector control measures, and the second on preventive treatment strategies for the most vulnerable groups. It touches on a key biological threat, mosquito resistance to insecticides and highlight the need for new anti-malaria tools.
Existing guidelines for management of diarrhoea are often ignored in public and private practice, possibly because of a perception that the guidelines are too simple, or because of expectations of the need to give ‘real’ drug therapy to stop diarrhoea. This guideline provides a problem-based approach to the basics of present-day management of acute gastroenteritis, and discusses the evidence for the recommendations. The guidelines recommend that each episode of diarrhoea must be seen as an opportunity for caregiver education in the prevention of the illness, in the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of oral rehydration and re-feeding, and in the recognition of when to seek help. The vast majority of patients recover rapidly, but serious complications do occur, and must be recognised and managed correctly. The guidelines are endorsed by the Paediatric Management Group (PMG) in South Africa.
This manual provides concise and up-to-date knowledge on 15 infectious diseases that have the potential to become international threats, and tips on how to respond to each of them. The 21st century has already been marked by major epidemics. Old diseases - cholera, plague and yellow fever - have returned, and new ones have emerged - SARS, pandemic influenza, MERS, Ebola and Zika. These epidemics and their impact on global public health have convinced the world's governments of the need for a collective and coordinated defence against emerging public health threats and accelerated the revision of the International Health Regulations (2005), that entered into force in 2007. The diseases covered are: Ebola virus disease, lassa fever, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, yellow fever, Zika, chikungunya, avian and other zoonotic influenza, seasonal influenza, pandemic influenza, Middle-East respiratory syndrome (MERS), cholera, monkeypox, plague, leptospirosis and meningococcal meningitis. Although originally developed as guidance for WHO officials, this publication is available to a wide readership including all frontline responders - communities, government officials, non-state actors and public health professionals - who need to respond rapidly and effectively when an outbreak is detected.
These guidelines provide guidance to healthcare workers and managers for the management and treatment of pregnant women in the context of COVID-19, read in conjunction with current Maternal and Neonatal health Guidelines and Guidelines for Clinical Management of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 disease. The guidelines change as knowledge regarding strategies to address COVID- 19 develop globally and in South Africa and are updated regularly online.
Visualizing Information for Advocacy: An Introduction to Information Design is a manual aimed at helping NGOs and advocates strengthen their campaigns and projects through communicating vital information with greater impact. This project aims to raise awareness, introduce concepts, and promote good practice in information design – a powerful tool for advocacy, outreach, research, organisation and education. Effective communcation is essential for any organisation to operate properly, and the guide covers all aspects of business communication. It is part of a programme of work by Tactical Technology Collective to promote research, development and design in the public interest.
IHS, the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam is launching their 1st MOOC (Massive Open Online Course): “Planning for Climate Change in African Cities”. Developed in collaboration with the African Local Governments Academy (ALGA), United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG) and Erasmus University Rotterdam, this free MOOC is 5 weeks and it offers the basics of urban resilience and adaptation, climate change planning, and policy assessment tools. The course is open to students and professionals in the fields of urban planning, environmental science, climate change, and other related fields.
These materials are aimed at trainers and facilitators conducting workshops for people interested in using budgets as a tool to enhance advocacy and research. The series’ provide guidance on how to run workshops on budget-related topics as well as relevant materials and tasks for the workshop. IBP uses an adult education approach in participatory workshops and rely on good preparation by the facilitator and strong interaction and reflection by participants.