2.4 Partnerships and Funding

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We are now going to discuss the important role that partners play in surveillance. When implementing and maintaining a surveillance programme, having a wide variety of partners committed to the programme’s success is essential.

Partnerships

Partners can help a surveillance programme succeed and be sustained, by developing goals, policies and access to funding, and providing access to data. They may include health-care professionals and non-profit organizations.

For a list of ideas of potential partners and their roles, please refer to Appendix E in WHO/CDC/ICBDSR Birth defects surveillance: a manual for programme managers (4). It is important to involve partners from the start of the programme, to fully benefit from their expertise.

Possible responses:

  • Developing goals and objectives for the surveillance programme
  • Ensuring implementation and long-term sustainability
  • Developing policy measures and moving measures through appropriate channels
  • Identifying champions that will maintain the interest in the programme

Use your worksheet to list more examples of partners/stakeholders in your country and their potential contributions to your programme.

Activity 2.2

Ask participants to refer to Activity 2.2 worksheet in the Participant Workbookpdf icon. Have participants complete a stakeholder’s worksheet for development of a congenital anomalies surveillance programme in their country.

Here is an example:
Hospitals would be important partners/stakeholders for a programme and their role would include serving as data sources.

Sample worksheet: Partners/stakeholders

Sample worksheet: Partners/stakeholders
Partners/stakeholders Potential roles
Hospitals Serve as data sources
Add more examples on your worksheet.

Use your worksheet to list more examples of partners/stakeholders in your country and their potential contributions to your programme.

After they have had time to complete the worksheet, display the following completed worksheet and discuss components with the group.

Sample worksheet: Partners/stakeholders

Sample worksheet: Partners/stakeholders
Partners/stakeholders Potential roles
Ministry of health Set policies and regulations for health-care services and delivery
Hospitals Serve as data sources
Community health workers Serve as potential data sources; help increase awareness of congenital anomalies, risk factors, other.
Primary health centres Data sources; source for prevention and outreach activities
Universities Opportunity to help increase knowledge
International organizations Provide advocacy; technical assistance and expertise

Communicating with Partners

It’s important to communicate with different types of partners to keep them engaged in the surveillance process. The following table provides ideas for different communication messages and strategies for disseminating these messages to a variety of partner audiences.

Ideas for different communication messages

Ideas for different communication messages
Likely users of outputs Communication message Dissemination strategy Evaluation
Ministry of health
  • Prevalence of congenital anomalies is high
  • Need for continued support for surveillance programme
  • Need for identification of specialty services
  • Need for prevention activities and intervention policies
  • Report
  • Press conferences
  • Evaluation of report for clarity of messages
  • Number of places that provide services
  • Effect of prevention policies
Hospitals and, if relevant, hospital associations and clinics
  • Importance of valid and reliable reporting, and feedback on their performance
  • Number of reports; distribution of reported congenital anomalies by hospital
  • Consistency of reports/data quality
  • Report
  • Datasets
  • Newsletters for staff
  • Information given at training sessions, workshops and seminars
  • Evaluation of report
  • Pre- and posttests at trainings or workshops
Champions
  • Importance of their support
  • How they can promote and support implementation of a surveillance programme
  • Report
  • Letter
  • Number of champions participating in the programme
Community health workers/community health volunteers
  • Importance of notification of congenital anomalies seen in the community and with home births, to provide referrals to clinics or ambulatory care centres
  • Information given at training sessions, workshops and seminars
  • Pre- and posttests at training sessions or workshops
Congenital anomalies associations, foundations and other nongovernmental organizations
  • Need for improved quality of care for individuals living with disabilities
  • Report
  • Media
  • Educational materials
  • Newsletters
  • Use of report
  • Requests for educational materials
International organizations
  • Information about surveillance programme implementation, global impact, how they can support efforts
  • Report
  • Media, written materials
  • Newsletters
  • Use of reports
  • Requests for educational material
Medical schools / research agencies
  • Importance of congenital anomalies mortality and morbidity
  • Importance of congenital anomalies surveillance
  • Prevention of congenital anomalies
  • Curricula
  • Coursework
  • Seminars
  • Number of medical schools/agencies integrating the message
References
  1. World Health Organization. Congenital anomalies. Fact sheet No 370. October 2012 (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs370/en/index.htmlexternal icon , accessed 29 April 2015).
  2. Resolution WHA63.17. Birth defects. In: Sixty-third World Health Assembly, Geneva,17–21 May 2010. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2010 (http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA63/A63_R17-en.pdfexternal icon, accessed 29 April 2015).
  3. International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 10th revision. Geneva: World Health organization; 2015 (http://apps.who.int/classifications/icd10/browse/2015/enexternal icon , accessed 24 February 2015).
  4. World Health Organization, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research (ICBDSR). Birth defects surveillance: a manual for programme managers. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014 (https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefectscount/documents/bd-surveillance-manual.pdf, accessed 10 February 2015).
  5. World Health Organization, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research (ICBDSR). Birth defects surveillance: atlas of selected congenital anomalies. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014 (http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/127941/1/9789241564762_eng.pdf?ua=1pdf iconexternal icon , accessed 10 February 2015).
  6. CDC Foundation. What is public health? (http://www.cdcfoundation.org/content/what-public-healthexternal icon , accessed 24 February 2015).
Page last reviewed: October 30, 2019
Content source: Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, NCBDDD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention