Can your Organisation become an Associate of Africa AHEAD?

Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) can become Associates  within  Africa AHEAD in one of three ways:

1. By invitation: Africa AHEAD invites the said NGO as an associate based on  valuable experience in the CHC approach

2. By partnership: International NGOs who have used Africa AHEAD as a consultant for training and implementation of  their own CHC projects

3. By application: Informal collaboration through interest in using the CHC methodology and willingness to contribute to greater understanding of this approach

Organisations wishing to contribute to international effort to achieve a cost-effective development model for behavior change using the CHC approach are invited to join Africa AHEAD as Associates, by signing an MoU as an Associated Organisation, and contributing a nominal membership fee.

This implies that the Associated Organization is one which subscribes to the AHEAD Model of development and conducts all projects according to the basic assumption of the approach as outlined on this website.

BENEFITS OF ASSOCIATION WITH AFRICA AHEAD

Africa AHEAD can assist Associated Organisations by:

• Freely sharing of information and mentoring through brief queries by email
• Sharing of existing Africa AHEAD training materials should these be appropriate
• Sharing of existing Africa AHEAD base line survey for measuring behavior change
• Providing a dedicated Webpage accessed directly by the Associated Organization on the website
• Co-publication of findings in journals and international conferences

Africa AHEAD joins funded partnership by:

• Development of viable project proposals for CHC implementation
• Assistance in the adaptation of training materials to be context specific
• Assistance in training of Trainers for CHC Programmes
• Assistance in setting up monitoring systems of programme
• Formal validation of CHC programme through research and evaluation

The benefit to Africa AHEAD from Associated Organizations is that a School of Development will be recognized within the public domain, providing an institutional memory and enabling lessons learned to be shared and rigorously documented in order to provide long term research into the use of the CHC methodology. This may also ensure that the reputation of CHC approach is not undermined by poor replication.

To apply to become an Associate Organisation:  contact us for Application Form.

ASSOCIATED ORGANISATIONS

Zimbabwe AHEAD

Zimbabwe AHEAD is an indigenous NGO formed in 1997 to scale up the Community Health Club approach that had proved so successful in field trials between 1995-1997 (funded by UNICEF). As the original pioneer in the Community Health Club approach, the organisation has invaluable experience in this methodology and in the past 10 years has developed and utilized the AHEAD Model to its full extent.

Health Integrated Development Organisation (HIDO)

HIDO is an indigenous NGO based in Gulu District in Northern Uganda . It was formed in 2004 by Ugandan medical practitioners and is comprised of an energetic group of recently qualified clinicians and health assistants. Supported by CARE International, HIDO provided the facilitators which were trained by Africa AHEAD to start Health Clubs in 15 IDP Camps in Gulu. HIDO now provides training in the CHC model for other NGOs and has expanded activities to other districts, in partnership with other organisations.

Effective Interventions

Effective Interventions is a UK based Foundation formed to influence the sector to promote best practice, by providing case studies of how to lower Infant Mortality Rate in developing countries. Two major research programmes are being done, one in India and the other in Guinea Bissau, one of the poorest countries in Africa. After visiting Zimbabwe AHEAD to verify claims of high rate of hygiene behaviour change, Africa AHEAD was asked to provide training and mentor in the CHC approach. In 2007, a workshop was held to train facilitators in the Community Health Clubs to compliment an intervention to improve clinical facilities for expectant mothers and under 5’s.

Philisanani Community Health Club

Africa AHEAD on behalf of University of Western Cape was asked to provide training in August 2006 for 25 facilitators in order to start Community Health Clubs in Khayelitsha, one of the largest informal settlements in Cape Town. Having completed the health training, Philisanani has gone on to become a registered Non Profit organisation, after a core group of health club members decided to provide long term assistance to their community. The group is now seeking funds to provide home based care to the vulnerable elderly, as well as providing child care services for working parents, and promoting healthy behaviors and life-skills with the youth

Imbasa Community Resources

A group of women previously trained as facilitators in the AHEAD methodology have recently formed Imbasa Community Resources, a community-based non-profit organisation. Working out of the informal settlements near Cape Town, these women have first-hand experience of the area’s health, hygiene, water and sanitation, and social issues. Like AfricaAHEAD, Imbasa promotes an ethos of self-help, and hopes to aid the community to problem solve its water and sanitation issues by working with the Community Health Clubs in the area. Imbasa also plans to help train new health clubs, educate vendors on proper hygiene, work with creches, and to further open dialogue between the South African residents and other African nationals living in the informal settlements.

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