Celebrating APC’s Population Health and Environment Integration Activity in Madagascar

APC’s Population Health and Environment (PHE) Integration Activity in Madagascar hosted a major dissemination event Friday, May 24, 2019, to share activity results, engage community members, and increase policymaker’s commitment to support PHE activities in Madagascar. The activity, implemented by JSI through USAID Community Capacity for Health Program (locally known as Mahefa Miaraka), is based on the concept that integrated PHE programs achieve greater results than vertical programs.

The event demonstrated how the partnership between Madagascar’s PHE network and the official Interministerial Working Group in charge of PHE, Group de travail sur sante et l’environnement (GTSE), effectively support integrated population, health and environment activities. Participants included a delegate for the Minister of Population and appointees from the Ministries of Health and Environment. Representatives from USAID/Madagascar and USAID/Washington were present.

The dissemination event included a plenary session; a participatory conference/discussion with testimonials from Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) and regional PHE field actors; a film highlighting APC’s PHE work in Madagascar; and advocacy presentations developed during a policy communications workshop managed by the Policy Reference Bureau (PRB) and JSI’s Mahefa Miaraka team. Additionally, the participants attended an interactive fair where local PHE actors led discussions on the “value-added” by PHE activities. Participants viewed visual displays of the history of PHE in Madagascar and PHE results, artwork and photographs, posters on PHE processes adapted for different goals, model villages and communities, and reconstructed toby (health hut where local communities can access health services). This enabled participants to better understand how PHE activities support key policies and programs of multiple ministries while specifically responding to community needs.