When community health programs are well-designed, managed, and sufficiently funded, they can yield substantial health and economic benefits. In addition to contributing to a healthier, more productive population, they can reduce the risk of costly epidemics while generating substantial cost savings for families and health systems.1 On the other hand, when poorly designed or managed [more…]

This blog was originally published on Global Health NOW. Paid or Volunteer? Community health workers are on the frontlines in many countries—and vital to achieving universal health coverage. Yet the public health community has not reached a consensus on which model is the best. Consensus is urgently needed, both at the global and country levels, to [more…]

In collaboration with the Access and Delivery Partnership (ADP), MSH recently used LeaderNet in a face-to-face workshop setting. As the Course Director, I greatly appreciated the ease with which we could change PowerPoints, case studies and other materials to suit the needs of participants and the participants liked LeaderNet’s easy-to-access layout. They quickly became accustomed [more…]

People often struggle with how to capture and share learning, how to create meaningful and productive learning opportunities, and how to measure success. Here are some lessons I have learned from my 15 years of working as a leader and instructor in knowledge management and learning. Keep it simple and systematic As public health professionals, [more…]

“If you knew better, you would do better.” – TD Jakes

The Internet has expanded knowledge enormously. People can learn how to crochet, raise a kitten, code, and how to take care of a baby from the comfort of home. For the first time in human history we can get the information we need, when we need it, and at very little cost. But many people still struggle, especially those who are older, female, poor, or have disabilities. Many times they can’t access the information they need in ways that are useful to them. Often the resources available require a guide or a trainer to help them to get the best out of the information.

Dominic Mutai remembers his first experience as a mentee in PATH’s M&E Professional Engagement Program, or M&E PrEP, as it’s more commonly known. The program strengthens monitoring and evaluation (M&E) capacity by helping M&E professionals improve their knowledge of practice standards, build skills necessary to deliver high-quality work in the field, and apply these practices [more…]

The IBP Initiative has a history of facilitating learning among our member organizations. Based at the World Health Organization (WHO), we have access to clinical experts working on WHO resources and guidelines. As a network of implementing partners, we also have access to technical experts working at the country level. Fostering learning between these key [more…]

Learning is a demanding pursuit. The human brain typically comprises about two percent of our body weight, but consumes roughly 20 percent of our metabolic energy — more than any other organ. There are many ways to deploy that energy. To be strategic, organizational leaders must direct intellectual resources toward the right goals through a process of guided learning.

How do we really learn? Learning takes many forms. We can learn about a specific approach to accomplish a task efficiently or how to interact with and find our peers to ask them the right questions and listen to their responses. An important aspect of learning, especially for adults, is unlearning.