Care Group TAG Highlights Melanie Morrow Director of MCH Programs World Relief With input and selected slides from other CG TAG participants December 9, 2010

Description of a Care Group. They are different from typical mother’s groups in that each volunteer is responsible for regularly visiting of her neighbors, sharing what she has learned and facilitating behavior change at the household level. A Care Group is a group of volunteer, community-based health educators who regularly meet together with project staff for training and supervision.

Description (cont.) Care Groups create a multiplying effect to equitably reach every beneficiary household with interpersonal behavior change communication. Care Groups create a multiplying effect to equitably reach every beneficiary household with interpersonal behavior change communication. They also provide the structure for a community health information system that reports on new pregnancies, births and deaths detected during home visits They also provide the structure for a community health information system that reports on new pregnancies, births and deaths detected during home visits

World Relief Mozambique Vurhonga 2 Care Group Structure 26 Health Animators (paid) 173 Care Groups of Volunteers 10 Households per volunteer (24,200 total HH reached) 5 WR Staff Supervisors

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene 2007

Unicef State of the World’s Children 2008

Countries where Care Groups have been implemented Bolivia Bolivia Burundi Burundi Cambodia Cambodia DRC DRC Ethiopia Ethiopia Guatemala Guatemala Indonesia Indonesia Kenya Kenya Liberia Liberia Malawi Malawi Mozambique* Mozambique* Niger Niger Philippines Philippines Rwanda Rwanda Uganda Uganda Zambia Zambia * First Care Group Project in 1995, World Relief Mozambique

Care Group projects serving populations > 1 Million people Food for the Hungry Mozambique Food for the Hungry Mozambique Cost per beneficiary per year: $2.78 Cost per beneficiary per year: $2.78 Kabeho Mwana EIP consortium in Rwanda using modified approach (Concern Worldwide, The IRC and World Relief) Kabeho Mwana EIP consortium in Rwanda using modified approach (Concern Worldwide, The IRC and World Relief) World Relief Mozambique SCIP World Relief Mozambique SCIP

Key Messages from Care Group TAG Care Groups are not meant to replace CHWs but they provide a means to extend the reach of CHWs to achieve high levels of household level behavior change associated with mortality reduction. Care Groups are not meant to replace CHWs but they provide a means to extend the reach of CHWs to achieve high levels of household level behavior change associated with mortality reduction. Implementation of Care Groups at scale requires partnership with MOH, NGOs and communities. Implementation of Care Groups at scale requires partnership with MOH, NGOs and communities.

CareGroupInfo.org