Niger Community mobilization assessment report
This coverage assessment provides insights about key community figures, formal and informal communication channels, and community health seeking practices and perceptions, and barriers and boosters to access SAM service in the district of Tanout in Niger.
1st January 2014
Coverage Monitoring Network, French Red Cross
The French Red Cross (FRC) has been implementing a CMAM program in Tanout District since 2005. FRC is currently supporting the district health office (DHO) and 31 Centres de santé intégrés (CSIs) to provide SAM treatment to needy community.
The community mobilization assessment was carried out in Tanout district in Zinder region of Niger in July 2014 to assess the coverage and the community mobilization components of the French Red Cross ECHO funded CMAM project. It aimed to build capacity of the partners’ staffs in undertaking community mobilization assessment and planning a comprehensive community mobilization strategy for the CMAM program. This assessment employed a comprehensive mixed-method approach, including primary data collection via key-informants, focus group discussions, observations, and semi-structured interviews.
Frequent stock out of RUTF, far distance to CSI, misuse of RUTF, and inadequate quality of SAM treatment services are on list of top barriers to access CMAM services. Besides, the assessment showed that the CMAM program profoundly depend on health facility based service and quarterly mass screening for malnutrition. The community mobilization lags far behind from health facility based SAM service. The assessment provided insight about key community figures, formal and informal communication channels, and community health seeking practices and perceptions, and barriers and boosters to access SAM service in the district. It revealed the existence of suitable local structures and community resources, which the program needs to maximize the use to reinforce the community mobilization efforts. Every barrier affecting the community access and uptake of SAM treatment service, from frequent stock out and misuse of RUTF to far distance to CSI, require community participation and mobilization to resolve it. Since CMAM program is a long term program integrated into local health system, the program need to follow a sustainable and an opportunistic approach for community mobilization. It also needs to reinforce the local health system so that it can take over the ownership of the program. Reinvigorating and using existing DHO partners’ health coordination meeting and village health committee meeting for community mobilization coordination will revitalize the community participation and mobilization effort in a sustainable and efficient way.