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Leadership Development Program (LDP) in Ghana to Present Project Results
June 30, 2008

The Ghana LDP facilitator team, consisting of staff from the MOH Department of Medical Services and Ghana Institute of Public Administration (GIMPA), will present at the 2nd scientific conference of the Leadership and Management Studies in Sub-Sahara Africa to be held at GIMPA. Scheduled for July, the conference brings together academics and practitioners from around the world who are interested in and working on improving management and leadership in Africa. Keynote speakers represent authoritative voices from Africa, the US, Europe and Australia. The team will present the results of the LMS Ghana Leadership Development Program launched in early 2008 in the Central Region. The presentation will cover the results the seven teams have achieved with respect to, among other things, family planning, maternal health, and community-based services in seven districts.


Ministry of Public Health Unit Becomes First Afghan Government Agency Certified by the U.S. Government to Receive Significant Direct Funding
June 30, 2008

The Grants and Contracts Management Unit (GCMU) of the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) in Afghanistan oversees the awarding and management of service delivery grants to private-sector service delivery organizations. Nearly all funds for delivery of basic services are managed by this unit (more than 50% of the total government health budget). Tech-Serve has assisted the GCMU in building its capacity in financial and contract management to meet USAID pre-qualifications for directly receiving the funds. A team, including one Tech-Serve consultant and 12 GCMU staff, developed a transparent process for management and improvement of service delivery grants to ensure that planned service outputs and community coverage for services are achieved. In June 2008, the GCMU became the first government agency within Afghanistan certified by the U.S. Government to receive significant direct funding. The certification also involved a review of systems at the Afghan Ministry of Finance, which handles all financing for the Afghan government. Many of these processes will be replicated by teams at GCMU managing grant funding from the World Bank and European Community.”


Virtual Leadership Development Program (VLDP) for Reproductive Health Commodities Security Launches in Francophone Africa
June 30, 2008

In partnership with Constella Futures and John Snow, Inc. (JSI), MSH launched the VLDP for Reproductive Health Contraceptive Security on June 23, 2008. The 16-week program is being delivered in French to 10 teams from four African countries (Madagascar, Mali, Rwanda, and Senegal). Participating teams are from public- and private-sector institutions working in the area of contraceptive security. Like previous VLDPs adapted for contraceptive security challenges, teams within the same country will participate in additional national-level meetings to align their contraceptive security challenges and action plans. Two MSH staff, one based in Rwanda and the other in Thailand, are facilitating the program with partners from HPI/Constella Futures and JSI/DELIVER assisting in the development of action plans.


Virtual Forum: “Using Leadership to Reposition Reproductive Health on the Public Health Agenda”
June 30, 2008

In June 2008, the Global Exchange Network for Reproductive Health (GEN) hosted a virtual forum: “Using Leadership to Reposition Reproductive Health on the Public Health Agenda.” Funded by USAID, the forum was conducted English, Spanish, and French for 213 registered participants from 58 countries. Of these, 65 people were active during the online discussions. The main objective of the forum was for participants to identify the challenges they face in influencing the repositioning of family planning and reproductive health, and develop a plan to address this challenge. A participant from Myanmar noted: “thanks to MSH that it has taken up such a workshop, as I feel that [the] leading and managing aspects of health providers at all levels has not been practiced effectively till now although it was spelled out as an important issue verbally or on paper.”


Increase in Contraceptive Coverage among Women in Rural Nicaragua
June 30, 2008

From September 2007 to February 2008, LMS conducted a Leadership Development Program for 35 Ministry of Health staff working in rural municipalities of Nicaragua. One team, from the municipality of Murra, took on the challenge of increasing family planning coverage from 6% in September 2007 to 25% by August 2008. The Evangelic Church of Murra donated space for the Ministry of Health to conduct education sessions on the use of contraceptives. In addition, the team started a community-wide contraceptive distribution strategy in four communities. By February 2008, the municipality of Murra reached a coverage rate of 23%.


LeaderNet: Outcome of Virtual Seminar on Performance-Based Financing
June 16, 2008

From May 5–9, LeaderNet hosted the virtual seminar, “Performance-Based Financing of Health Services: Paying for Results Not Processes.” During this one-week seminar participants reviewed performance-based approaches to contracting and financing health programs that have been tested over the past several years, and learned how experiences with performance-based financing of health services have been linked to increased local ownership, accountability, and improved health outcomes. 159 people from 28 countries logged into the site during the seminar, with 60 posting in the seminar discussions. Following the seminar, one participant noted: “I work as a Technical Director in an institution where performance-based financing is applied. This seminar has strengthened our ability to better use this strategy.”

The LMS AIDS Care & Treatment Project Tests Nearly 29,000 People in Three Weeks
June 16, 2008

During a period of three weeks in May 2008, the LMS AIDS Care & Treatment Project (LMS-ACT) in Nigeria conducted large-scale mobile HIV Counseling & Testing (HCT) outreach in Niger and Kogi States. To reach as many people as possible with counseling, testing, and treatment, LMS-ACT hired 115 technical consultants. A total of 28,917 people were tested, of whom 416 tested positive and have been offered free care through LMS-ACT. The activity’s success was due in part to community mobilization accomplished through involving key community members such as traditional village leaders, religious leaders, and community groups such as youth associations and women’s groups.

LMS Abstracts Accepted for the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting
June 16, 2008

The LMS Global Leadership team has had two abstracts accepted for the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting. “Achieving Sustainable Results through Leadership & Management Strengthening for Family Planning and Reproductive Health” will discuss the realities of delivering family planning and reproductive health services in low-resource settings and the connection between leadership and management and improving family planning and reproductive health outcomes, and approaches to build leadership and management skills. The second presentation, “Facing the Public Health Crisis in East Africa through Strengthened Leadership & Management,” deals with the challenges countries in East Africa face in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in health, and how improved leadership and management contribute. The APHA Annual Meeting is scheduled for October 2008 in San Diego.

“Coaching for Professional Development and Organizational Results” eManager Now Available in French
June 16, 2008

MSH’s online publication, The eManager, Coaching for Professional Development and Organizational Results is now available in French on the MSH website. The eManager uses lessons, best practices, and evidence from the field to provide practical approaches, tools, and resources for people to solve everyday problems in the delivery of public health services. The issue discusses the importance of managers who not only lead but also coach individual staff members to help them improve their performance. The issue defines coaching, offers a tool for self-assessment of coaching skills and a coaching approach (OALFA, Observe-Ask-Listen-give Feedback-reach an Agreement), and provides tips on how managers can improve their coaching. This free, online publication is a continuation of The Manager, the continuing education quarterly for which MSH has been known since 1992.


LeaderNet Surveys Members’ Use of Resources and Capacity Building Needs
June 16, 2008

LeaderNet, the LMS network for knowledge and experience exchange in management and leadership, has completed a survey of members’ use of the network and capacity building needs going forward. The web-based survey analyzed responses from 133 members across four languages and a diverse sample of pubic and not-for profit organizations. Sixty-eight percent of respondents reported using a resource or knowledge/practice obtained from LeaderNet in their work. Of those, 43% reported that teamwork was strengthened, 32% reported that they had improved their capacity to respond to change, 30% reported improved work climate, and 26% reported that management systems improved. LeaderNet has become an important vehicle for scaling up and mainstreaming leadership and management tools and approaches worldwide. The survey is helping guide future programming and enhancements to the website.

MSH Contributes to the Asia-Pacific Action Alliance on Human Resources for Health (AAAH)
May 18, 2008

As a direct result of MSH’s Center for Leadership and Management and LMS participation in the Global Health Work Force Alliance meeting in Kampala in March, the AAAH invited MSH to serve as a resource in its Health Workforce Strategic Planning Workshop in Manila, May 5–9. The AAAH funded MSH’s participation. 35 participants from eight countries attended (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka). Under the leadership of the School of Public Health of the University of the Philippines and the Department of Health, the Philippines has produced a national Human Resources for Health (HRH) strategic plan. It was asked by AAAH to assist countries in Southeast Asia and Western Pacific to share their experience and methodology. The purpose of the workshop was to orient the participants to the guidelines used in the Philippines for developing national HRH strategic plans. CLM staff presented on strategic planning, leadership, and MSH international experience in HRH planning and strategic management. Approximately 90% of participants were medical doctors with no training in leadership and/or management. All of the participants expressed interest in leadership development and many would like to include leadership development in their national HRH strategic plans. Representatives from Bangladesh, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, and Cambodia expressed interest in collaborating with MSH in the future, either through face-to-face technical assistance and/or participation in virtual programs.

CLM Presents on Management and Leadership in Human Resources
May 18, 2008

The Human Resource (HR) specialist of MSH’s Center for Leadership and Management (CLM) presented on a panel at the Harvard School of Public Health, April 18, 2008, on “Migration and HIV/AIDS: New Crisis of Human Resources in Health.” The panel was part of a “Public Health Issues” series organized by Professor Tom Bossert. The focus of the presentation was on the role of HR Management and Leadership in mitigating the impact of migration and HIV/AIDS, giving examples of MSH work in several countries. It showed that we know the solutions to the HR crisis, but their implementation depends on three key elements: effective HRM systems, leadership teams solving problems at all levels, and multi-sectoral collaboration. Other panelists included senior economists from the World Bank and the Center for Global Development.

The LMS-Aids Care & Treatment Project in Nigeria begins ARV Therapy
May 18, 2008

On March 31st, 2008, the LMS AIDS Care & Treatment Project (LMS-ACT) enrolled its first four patients on antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. The first person to receive a one-month supply of ARVs was a 25-year-old woman in Niger State. She had tested positive several years ago, but had not started treatment at that time partially due to inaccessibility as she would have had to travel to the capital, Abuja, for care. Because of LMS-ACT’s efforts to support local clinics, this woman is receiving HIV/AIDS care and treatment free of charge and closer to home. As of April 2008, 377 HIV+ patients from Niger and Kogi states were under treatment with rapid scale-up planned for May and June.

Cost and Revenue Analysis Tool Chosen as Best Practice
May 18, 2008

MSH’s Cost and Revenue Analysis Tool (CORE) was developed with USAID core funds during the Family Planning Management Development II (FPMD II) Project in 1998. In May 2008, CORE was chosen as one of the best practice costing tools by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Secretariat hosted by the World Health Organization. The CORE tool is now available on their website.

ADRA Further Incorporates MSH Leadership Practices into Its Programs
May 18, 2008

A primary way ADRA is mainstreaming LMS practices is through the APLI, ADRA’s Professional Leadership Institute. The APLI takes place three times per year to provide professional development for ADRA staff. This year, two ADRA staff who represent the organization in the LMS partnership co-taught a one-week Leadership and Management course in Bangkok for ADRA’s top leadership. The course incorporated elements of MSH’s Leadership Development Program developed with Core funds. Two days were devoted to LMS methodologies, with the centerpiece being the Challenge Model. There were 23 course participants—including many Country Directors and other top ADRA professionals—representing 12 different countries (Myanmar, Fiji, China, Madagascar, Cambodia, Thailand, New Zealand, Serbia, Nepal, Japan, Mongolia, Colombia). Each participant left the course with the challenge to apply their new knowledge and skills in their country office and programs and to record their leadership and management success story in video form by October 2008.


Honduras: LMS-ULAT Program Presents Shared Vision
May 18, 2008

The LMS-ULAT team in Honduras worked with USAID, the Ministry of Health, and other key stakeholders to develop a shared, realistic vision for significantly reducing maternal and child mortality in the country by 2015. Included were plans for improving education and health services to mothers and children. In April 2008, more than 100 public health and government officials gathered in Tegucigalpa to celebrate the development of this shared vision. The U.S. Ambassador to Honduras, one of the many diplomats in attendance, acknowledged ULAT and the role it played in developing the vision. The sub-secretary of the Honduran Secretariat of Health expressed his sincere gratitude to USAID and MSH, noting the many ULAT staff who were instrumental in the process.

Medical School in Nicaragua Integrates Leadership and Management into Curriculum
May 5, 2008

The UNAN School of Medicine Board in Managua, Nicaragua, has approved the adapted medical school curriculum, which includes the integration of approaches to leadership and management development. The new curriculum, developed with assistance from LMS, will be launched with 5th year medical students in the summer 2008. The students conduct their practicum in MOH basic medical units, where the majority of client requests are for FP/RH services. LMS plans to evaluate the effectiveness of the new curriculum in 2009.

New LeaderNet Seminar: “Performance- Based Financing of Health Services: Paying for Results not Processes”
May 5, 2008

On May 5, LeaderNet launched a new virtual seminar, “Performance-Based Financing of Health Services: Paying for Results not Processes.” During this one-week seminar participants will have the opportunity to review some of the performance-based approaches to contracting and financing health programs that have been tested over the past several years, and learn how experiences with performance-based financing of health services have been linked to increased local ownership, accountability, and improved health outcomes. On the date of launch, 76 LeaderNet members from 28 countries logged into the system with 18 postings in the discussion section.

U.S.-Based Public Health Provider to Use the Managers Who Lead Handbook
May 5, 2008

Upon reviewing a copy of Managers Who Lead: A Handbook for Improving Health Services, the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) has ordered 30 copies and plans on using the resource as the main textbook in their internal leadership development activities. CHA is a Public Health Authority that includes 3 community hospitals, 26 health centers, the Health Department of Cambridge, a Medicaid HMO, and a research institute. It is a safety-net organization that has as its mission the improvement of the health of communities and to become the premier academic public hospital system in the country. CHA is committed to building the skills of young clinicians who are entering management and leadership roles. After reviewing a copy of Managers Who Lead, a senior staff person with CHA remarked: “I was delighted to find a readable book written for clinicians who are taking on leadership and management roles, with examples that feel very familiar to us here. This book does a wonderful and respectful job of distilling the best of the ideas that weigh down my bookshelf of management and leadership books, framing them within the humanitarian values that are central to healthcare, supplementing them with real-world examples and experience, and providing the reader with practical frameworks and exercises. So I shared it around and it has become a big hit here.”

Update on the LMS Project in Honduras: Local Technical Assistance Unit (ULAT)
May 5, 2008

The LMS project in Honduras provides administrative and financial management support to ULAT (Local Technical Assistance Unit), a USAID-funded program working with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to improve equitable social sector investments and to increase the use of quality maternal, child, and family planning/reproductive health (FP/RH) services. ULAT is working with the MOH to implement a strategy to institutionalize FP services in all of the more than 1,500 health facilities in the country and strengthen clinical FP service delivery. 1,787 staff members from the Health Secretariat have been trained in the strategy. Additionally, progress in monitoring has been made now that 25 hospitals and 120 health centers have a system for self-monitoring and appropriate decision making. The inter-institutional provider of contraceptives has prepared an agreement to purchase contraceptives through UNFPA beginning in 2009, which will yield a significant savings for the government. The project will continue to work on the institutionalization of the FP strategy, including seeking national funding for different components of the strategy and improving the functioning of the logistics system.

MSH Staff and Consultant Working to Support Global Fund Activities Nominated for OGAC Award
May 5, 2008

Ann Lion Coleman, the OGAC CTO for MSH’s Grant Management Solutions (GMS) project announced the OGAC Award Nomination at their April meeting in Washington, D.C. The Director of the GMS project, the lead technical advisor (both MSH employees), and a consultant were nominated for their work with the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) in Cote d’Ivoire. Their support over a period of 10 months enabled the CCM to accept and then embrace reform as the best means of acquiring essential resources for the country’s national programs against AIDS, TB, and Malaria. As a result of the team’s technical support, the CCM is now eligible to receive assistance from the Global Fund. As team leader of USAID assistance provided through LMS, Ms. Coleman noted the team’s “patient facilitation and brokering skills with the Minister of AIDS, the CCM Secretariat, and CCM members.”

LeaderNet Seminar “Coaching for Professional Development and Organizational Results” Concludes
May 1, 2008

The LMS virtual seminar “Coaching for Professional Development and Organizational Results” concluded on April 4, 2008. 135 people from 30 countries participated in the two-week LeaderNet seminar that formally launched MSH’s first eManager on the same topic. The seminar covered such topics as: the role of the manager as coach, the adaptation of coaching methods from culture to culture, and specific coaching skills and practices. It also included a self-assessment tool so that participants could examine their own coaching skills. A participant from Nicaragua noted: “coaching is a tool of the 21st century. The results are impressive in terms of the changes it can bring about in human resources, increasing their potential and self-confidence, and helping them discover untapped talents and ways to overcome their weaknesses, as in the case of PROFAMILIA.”

Strategic Planning for Japanese and Vietnamese HIV/AIDS Program Managers
April 21, 2008

In late 2007, the Foundation for Advanced Studies in International Development (FASID) and MSH facilitated a course on strategic planning for multi-sector HIV/AIDS programs in Vietnam. FASID is a Japanese quasi-governmental foundation based in Tokyo that focuses on training and research in international development. The face-to-face workshop was developed jointly based on LMS’ Virtual Strategic Planning Program, developed with USAID Core funding, and was delivered with financial support from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Twelve Japanese and five Vietnamese managers from Khanh Hoa Province participated. The Japanese participants include consultants, professors, graduate students, and staff from governmental and international organizations engaged in HIV/AIDS-related activities. The purpose of the course was two-fold. For the Japanese, it was to strengthen skills to support and contribute to multi-sector HIV/AIDS programs in harmony with local frameworks, using Vietnam as the case study. For the Vietnamese participants, the purpose was to strengthen their skills to strategically plan provincial, multi-sector HIV/AIDS programs consistent with the Vietnamese HIV/AIDS strategic plan. Since completing the workshop, the Vietnamese participants are working to have strategic plans developed for all the provinces in Vietnam using the methodology of this course.

Leadership Networking Workshop Held for Hospital Directors in Afghanistan
April 21, 2008

Tech-Serve, the LMS Associate Award in Afghanistan, has been running a series of Leadership Development Programs (LDPs) for Provincial Health Teams since late 2006. In June 2007, Tech-Serve facilitated the first Provincial Networking Workshop in Pulikhumri, Baghlan. The workshop was offered so that LDP participants could share experiences and lessons learned from the first phase of the Tech-Serve leadership development process. Teams exchanged feedback on action plans, their progress in implementing them, and challenges they are currently facing. “We benefited a lot from the LDP training,” explained one participant during the workshop, “and we are now applying the LDP principles in our official work and our life.” Health officers from Herat, Ghazni, Kandahar, Paktya, Paktyka, Khost , Bamayn, and Kabul provinces attended. Following the workshop, one senior-level participant remarked: “congratulations to the team on an excellent networking [experience]. This is a powerful tool to maximize the efforts already made with individual provincial teams.” Tech-Serve continues to support the teams in implementing their action plans as well as offering additional leadership development opportunities to existing and new teams. For example, a Focusing and Planning workshop for department directors of the General Directorate of Preventive Medicine will be held in the coming months.

Nine Nigerian Public Sector Teams Complete Leadership Development Program
April 21, 2008

LMS/Nigeria delivered the final session of the Leadership Development Program (LDP) in March 2008 to nine teams from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Development. In all, 45 participants from the two Ministries attended this last workshop. There was a great amount of enthusiasm and commitment from the participating teams to complete the workshop and to achieve their results. For example, the team from the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) unit of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs is working to establish a coordinating mechanism in all 36 states of Nigeria, aimed at increasing the cooperation and coordination of services to OVCs. The National TB and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTB/NTDs) of the Zaria Training School is updating their existing training materials to be aligned with the new strategic direction of the Ministry of Health. Six of the nine teams are now in the process of preparing their final presentations for a meeting in May with key stakeholders, including the heads of their respective ministries and USG officials. The LMS facilitating team was requested by two participating teams to support them in replicating the LDP and to train their staff to become LDP facilitators. Participating teams were introduced to LeaderNet so they can participate in regular online forums to support their continuous learning.

LMS-ACT Launches Mobile Clinics to Reach People in Remote Areas of Nigeria
April 21, 2008

The LMS AIDS Care & Treatment (LMS-ACT) Program, a PEPFAR-funded Associate Award in Nigeria, has completed renovation of six health clinics in Kogi State and five clinics in Niger State. The program has also provided training to the staff in the use of new equipment and in the delivery of HIV/AIDS services. In addition, to reach as many people as possible, LMS-ACT has purchased two vans to function as “mobile clinics” in the two states and plans to purchase two more by early May. LMS-ACT has been performing mobile outreach for several months through the use of rental vehicles; however, the new mobile clinics enable the teams to bring along tents, portable tables, and chairs which allow them counsel and test people for HIV/AIDS in privacy. The mobile clinics also carry video equipment, portable projector screens, and public announcement systems to aid in community outreach and to raise HIV/AIDS awareness. As of April 2008, the teams have counseled and tested 1,320 individuals through mobile outreach, of which 18 tested positive and are being provided with care through LMS-ACT.

Leadership and Management Training for Human Resources in Tanzania
April 4, 2008

In collaboration with IntraHealth International’s Capacity Project, LMS conducted two workshops for 26 senior-level managers from the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Muhimbili National Hospital, and the Christian Social Service Commission. The workshops took place in January and March, 2008, with follow-up scheduled for June. The need for the workshops was identified following a number of Human Resources for Health (HRH) assessments and other studies of the Tanzanian health sector, all of which pointed to the need to strengthen leadership and management skills among health managers. In addition, the Tanzania National HRH Strategic plan, 2008–2013, identifies leadership and management development as one of the priority HRH interventions. The workshop used leadership development approaches from the Leadership Development Program to help teams develop action plans to overcome their challenges in HRH. Participants commented that the most important things learned were:

  • Using the Challenge Model to achieve a vision
  • Developing a personal vision
  • Listening and why it is important
  • Distinguishing between challenges and problems
  • Linking leading and managing practices to results
  • Expanding one’s influence

They also noted that the most effective methodologies used in the workshops were:

  • Active involvement of participants and not lecturing
  • Role plays to demonstrate types of listening
  • Relating the training to real life experiences

Progress in Global Fund Activities in Cote d’Ivoire
April 4, 2008

After participating in a transparent membership renewal process and electing a new Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) President in February 2008, 20 primary members of the newly re-organized CCM attended an MSH-led orientation workshop. Lasting three days, the workshop covered topics as broad as “What is the Global Fund?” and “How does a CCM operate?” to specific committee action planning in the focus areas of monitoring and evaluation (M&E), communications, resource mobilization, and proposal development. In-depth analysis and discussion on how to improve the efficiency of the CCM Executive Secretariat resulted in the design and ratification of a new structure for this administrative body (which will now include three specialist positions for focusing on each disease) and increase its ability to adequately support the CCM members. The LMS leadership development facilitator led the CCM members through a visioning exercise revealing common goals and interests among members. The convivial nature of the orientation was commented on in the final evaluation. The CCM has requested further training in the areas of leadership and management, M&E, and general grant management support. LMS will continue to work with the Cote d’Ivoire CCM through a field support buy-in from PEPFAR.

LMS Program in Haiti Launches, Project Director Hired
April 4, 2008

In December 2007, USAID/Haiti requested technical assistance from LMS covering a wide variety of interventions under the umbrellas of capacity building for HIV/AIDS and management of family planning commodity security. $2.255 million has been approved for the first year of the project, with $5.8 million anticipated for the remainder of the planned three-year project. LMS hired a Project Director who began work in April 2008. The project’s main components include family planning commodity security, capacity building in coordinating HIV/AIDS behavior change communication and community outreach (including orphans and vulnerable children and youth), potential assistance to the Ministry of Health to address human resource planning to support HIV/AIDS needs, and reactivation of the National AIDS Commission. A key focus of the community care and support element of the project is establishing community-based activities in Cité Soleil, a priority intervention area. Partners under this initiative include the Fondation pour la Santé Reproductrice et l’Education Familiale (FOSREF) and La Maison de l’Arc-en-Ciel (Rainbow House, MAEC). Project partners will apply leadership development programs adapted to the community level. The commodity security activities will be implemented in close collaboration with Pwojè Djanm, the USAID-funded bilateral implemented by MSH, and will focus on technical assistance in commodity management to ensure that they are managed from point of entry into Haiti to point of use in up to 270 USG-supported health centers. LMS also will provide technical assistance to strengthen the existing national commodity logistics system.

Virtual Forum: “Effective Programming for Long-Acting and Permanent Methods: A Forum for Family Planning Program Managers and Policymakers”
April 4, 2008

The ACQUIRE Project, implemented by EngenderHealth, is partnering with Family Health International (FHI) and the LMS Program to deliver an online forum titled “Effective Programming for Long-Acting and Permanent Methods (LAPM): A Forum for Family Planning Program Managers and Policymakers” using LMS’ Global Exchange Network for Reproductive Health. The forum will provide participants with a platform to discuss the challenges, opportunities, and successes experienced in LAPM programming, and highlight the important role LAPMs have in addressing the worldwide unmet need for family planning. The objectives of the forum include: discussing the rationale and barriers to increasing investment in LAPMs and creating a supportive policy environment; discussing program design issues and implications for LAPM service delivery; and exchanging tools, lessons learned, and best practices. The forum will be in English and is scheduled for April 21–25, 2008.

Virtual Leadership Development Program for Family Planning Service Delivery Teams Launches
April 4, 2008

In March 2008, the Virtual Leadership Development Program for Family Planning (VLDP/FP) Service Delivery Teams launched. The VLDP/FP was developed by MSH in partnership with the USAID-funded Capacity Project. Delivery of the program is being funded by the Capacity Project. Nine public- and private-sector teams from five countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda) have enrolled in the 13-week program that aims to strengthen family planning and reproductive health service delivery and program management.
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