Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity

New Approach Helps Nursing and Midwifery Schools in Mali Improve Curricula and Achieve Accreditation

kseaton — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 15:33:54 +0000

New Approach Helps Nursing and Midwifery Schools in Mali Improve Curricula and Achieve Accreditation kseaton November 29, 2021 November 29, 2021

Eight nursing and midwifery schools in Mali—a country that has long experienced a shortage of qualified nurses and midwives—are now accredited and using a competency-based approach curriculum, compared to only three schools in 2017.

Thanks to a partnership between IntraHealth International and Mali’s Ministry of Health and Social Development, the number of accredited nursing and midwifery schools has more than doubled and 829 more nursing and midwifery students are benefitting from a high-quality education, improving the quality of the health workforce in Mali.

A new report—Accreditation of private midwifery and nursing schools in Mali: a local sustainable solution to increasing the supply of qualified health workers—outlines how the partnership has worked to improve the quality of education in Mali’s private universities, better manage the country’s available health workers, and initiate a decentralized strategy for health worker recruitment and motivation.

Mali has an average of 6 health workers per 10,000 people (the World Health Organization recommends 23 skilled health workers per 10,000 people). Northern regions such as Timbuktu, Gao, and Kidal have 4, 5, and 13 health workers per 10,000 people respectively, while the capital of Bamako has 23.

We need to focus on our shortage of health workers.

“We need to focus on our shortage of health workers,” says Cheick Touré, IntraHealth’s country director in Mali. “We know that the density of health workers is high in the cities but in the rural areas it’s very low. We need to recruit nurses and community health workers there to provide services for women in their communities.”

Since 2017, the USAID-funded Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity, led by IntraHealth, worked with the Ministry of Health and Social Development and Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in six regions to train more health workers by improving the quality of education in private universities, better manage available health workers through the iHRIS health workforce information system, and address the low rate of retention of health workers in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

As part of this effort, IntraHealth collaborated with national and regional decision-makers using the West African Health Organization (WAHO) accreditation system to help 10 private nursing schools introduce WAHO’s regionally accepted, competency-based curriculum in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH).

Accreditation is an essential part of improving health training institutions—a key mechanism for assuring quality and protecting public health and safety. Additionally, having an accredited institution increases the number of student applications, thus expanding the pipeline of new health workers. As a result of this work:

90.5% of students at these schools demonstrated the required competencies to progress to the next year level.
203 students completed their clinical practice internships in rural and peri-urban areas within Mali’s northern regions.
89% of students at the Gao Nursing School in northern Mali passed their national exams compared to a national rate of less than 50%.
93% of the graduates recruited by South Sudan’s Ministry of Health and Social Development, communities, and nongovernmental organizations are still working the northern regions.

“Thanks to the competency-based approach implemented by the project to strengthen human resources for health, the student is now placed at the heart of their learning,” says Dr. Mamadou Maiga, a teacher at the Gao Nursing School.

Introducing a standardized regional curriculum in Mali has helped improved graduation rates and student enrollment as well as the quality of health worker training. IntraHealth’s support to the regulatory bodies that oversee accreditation has helped more schools sustainably complete the process in Mali. Now, other countries in the region who similarly rely on private sector institutions for health workers have a model to utilize to increase their own health workforce.

IntraHealth International is now partnering with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and 12 private schools in Mali, Senegal, and Niger to sustainably increase the number of qualified, well-trained nurses who can serve rural communities in these countries—all of which face a critical shortage of health workers. To learn more about the new Improving Maternal and Child Health Care in Rural West Africa Through High-Quality Education for Nurses and Midwives project, click here.

Mali Education & Performance Health workforce development Health Workers Midwives NursesHealth workers at their graduation ceremony in Gao, Mali in February 2020. Photo by Doucoure Sekou for IntraHealth International.Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity

Analysis of Inequalities and Discrimination in the Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion of Women in Preservice Education and Health Care Facilities in Mali

kmelton — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 19:16:15 +0000

Analysis of Inequalities and Discrimination in the Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion of Women in Preservice Education and Health Care Facilities in Mali 2020 kmelton March 03, 2021

This technical brief discusses approaches and results from the Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity.

English

Countries Mali

Projects Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity

Topics Education & Performance Gender Equality Health Workforce & Systems

By Jeanne Amadiguin Tessougué, Constance Newman, Cheick Oumar Touré

Contribution of the Gao Nursing School to the Training and Retention of Health Workers in the Northern Regions of Mali

kmelton — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 20:30:19 +0000

Contribution of the Gao Nursing School to the Training and Retention of Health Workers in the Northern Regions of Mali 2020 kmelton February 09, 2021

This technical brief discusses approaches and results from the Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity.

English

Countries Mali

Projects Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity

Topics Education & Performance Health workforce development Health Workforce & Systems Performance & Quality Improvement Quality of Care

By Jeanne Amadiguin Tessougué, Sujata Bijou

Decentralizing Mali's Health Workforce Information System

kmelton — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 22:11:30 +0000

Decentralizing Mali's Health Workforce Information System 2020 kmelton November 18, 2020

This technical brief discusses approaches and results from the Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity.

English

Transforming Health Worker Training in Mali Using a Competency-Based Approach

Using the Optimizing Performance and Quality Approach to Improve Human Resources for Health in Mali

Countries Mali

Projects Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity

Topics HRIS Health workforce development Health Workforce & Systems

By Jeanne Amadiguin Tessougué

Using the Optimizing Performance and Quality Approach to Improve Human Resources for Health in Mali

kmelton — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 22:07:34 +0000

Using the Optimizing Performance and Quality Approach to Improve Human Resources for Health in Mali 2020 kmelton November 18, 2020

This technical brief discusses approaches and results from the Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity.

English

Transforming Health Worker Training in Mali Using a Competency-Based Approach

Decentralizing Mali's Health Workforce Information System

Countries Mali

Projects Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity

Topics Health workforce development Health Workforce & Systems Management and Performance Performance & Quality Improvement Quality of Care

By Jeanne Amadiguin Tessougué, Sujata Bijou

Transforming Health Worker Training in Mali Using a Competency-Based Approach

kmelton — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 22:02:36 +0000

Transforming Health Worker Training in Mali Using a Competency-Based Approach 2020 kmelton November 18, 2020

This technical brief discusses approaches and results from the Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity.

English

Using the Optimizing Performance and Quality Approach to Improve Human Resources for Health in Mali

Decentralizing Mali's Health Workforce Information System

Countries Mali

Projects Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity

Topics Health workforce development Health Workforce & Systems Management and Performance Quality of Care

By Jeanne Amadiguin Tessougué

Resilient Nursing School in Northern Mali Graduates 126 New Health Workers for the Region

kseaton — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 16:04:30 +0000

Resilient Nursing School in Northern Mali Graduates 126 New Health Workers for the Region kseaton March 18, 2020 March 18, 2020 Gao, Mali

Last month, 126 new health workers graduated from the Gao Nursing School in remote northern Mali, a major step for a region that has a shortage of health workers. Mali has only six health workers per 10,000 people (the World Health Organization recommends at least 23 for every 10,000 people), and the shortage is especially acute in the north, where violence and extremism over the past decade have left many without access to care.

IntraHealth International has partnered with Mali’s Ministry of Health to support the Gao Nursing School since it opened in 2001. The school is now responsible for graduating 89% of all the health workers in northern Mali, according to a new report by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). And it has also proved resilient. Over the past two decades, it has served as a haven for women with obstetric fistula, been damaged and occupied by rebels, and has now recovered to once again to produce new, well-trained nurses and midwives for the region’s population.

“A lot of people were skeptical because the school is in such a rural area,” says Cheick Touré, IntraHealth’s country director in Mali. “But we started a scholarship fund and now, the Gao Nursing School is self-sustaining and 89% of students pass their annual tests.”

Providing scholarships to local students makes them much more likely to stay in their communities after they graduate and provides much-needed health services to the populations there. The USAID report also found that:

More than three out of four health workers working in the northern regions were born there.
The average working time of a health worker who graduates from the Gao Nursing School is ten years compared to six years for health workers who have graduated outside of the northern regions.
93% of Gao Nursing School graduates have remained in Northern Mali.
Most health workers in the region who graduated from the Gao Nursing School are satisfied with their compensation, benefits, and bonuses.

“It is a very different success model of health worker retention for rural areas,” says Jeanne Tessougué, chief of party for IntraHealth’s Human Resources for Health Activity. “Health workers who come from the southern regions usually only stay a few years but people from Gao stay in the field for an average of ten years. It’s a success story of location and localization in initial training. It’s a local and sustainable solution.”

Keeping health workers in the region has been particularly hard since 2012, when rebel groups took control of the north, and a coup d’état overthrew what had previously been one of the most stable democracies in West Africa. Now, intercommunity conflict is still part of life, access to basic services is a challenge, infrastructure is lacking, and the economy is poor. Scholarships to the Gao Nursing School can be life-changing for both students and the community.

“I spoke to a graduating student who received a scholarship from us,” Tessougué says. “Her parents came for the ceremony and it was really emotional to see them. They come from a difficult context and without the scholarship, it wouldn’t have been possible for their daughter to reach her dream.”

IntraHealth’s Human Resources for Health Activity is funded by USAID. Our programs in Mali increase the number of health workers in hard-to-reach areas and have developed a national training policy and strategy with the Ministry of Health to help rural regions develop their own health workers, starting with nurses and midwives. We continue to work with the school to develop and update curricula and provide students with scholarships.

Official graduation ceremony of the Gao School of Nurses in February 2019. Photos taken by Emilienne Adibone Assama for IntraHealth International.

Mali Education & Performance Health Workforce & Systems Midwives NursesOfficial graduation ceremony of the Gao School of Nurses in February 2020. Photos taken by Emilienne Adibone Assama for IntraHealth International.Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity

IntraHealth’s Jeanne Tessougué of Mali Honored as Heroine of Health during World Health Assembly

intrahealth — Wed, 22 May 2019 15:28:28 +0000

IntraHealth’s Jeanne Tessougué of Mali Honored as Heroine of Health during World Health Assembly intrahealth May 22, 2019 May 22, 2019

Women in Global Health honored IntraHealth International’s Jeanne Tessougué as a Heroine of Health Sunday during the 72^nd annual World Health Assembly in Geneva. Tessougué was one of seven women honored for their leadership in improving health care and advancing gender equality.

The annual Heroines of Health awards highlight women’s major contributions to the global health care industry. Women currently hold 70% of jobs in the industry and contribute nearly $3 trillion to the health and social sectors, according to Women in Global Health, yet comprise a small percentage of global health leadership roles.

As chief of party for the USAID/Mali Human Resources for Health Activity, Tessougué leads all aspects of the five-year project to strengthen Mali’s health workforce, scaling up advances in maternal and child survival, and protecting citizens from emerging health threats, such as Ebola and pandemic influenza.

Dr. Jeanne Tessougué is a force for women and girls throughout Mali.

Tessougué has deep expertise in community health and more than ten years of experience working in health systems strengthening. She manages the implementation, design, and monitoring and evaluation of health programs using a participatory community approach to reduce maternal, newborn, and infant mortality.

Tessougué has spent her career advocating for underserved populations, human rights, rural women, and youth in Mali. She has contributed to multiple programs that promote integrated family planning and reproductive health services in both rural and urban environments through civil engagement and public-private partnerships.

“Dr. Jeanne Tessougué is a force for women and girls throughout Mali,” says Michele Broemmelsiek, IntraHealth’s chief program officer. “Congratulations to Jeanne and to all the Heroines of Health for this well-deserved recognition of their remarkable efforts to improve health care.”

The other 2019 Heroines of Health are:

Jane Ruth Aceng, the minister of health in Uganda and a longtime champion of improving community health to achieve universal health coverage.
Sandra Oyarzo Torres, a midwife, teacher, educator, advocate for sexual and reproductive health rights, and champion of gender equality who has worked with communities across Latin and Central America.
Farzana Ibrahim, one of the first female reconstructive plastic surgeons in Bangladesh.
Albertha Freeman, a community health services supervisor, the nurse cadre that oversees community health workers in Liberia’s national community health program.
Stéphanie Roche, a midwife and head of the maternity unit in Marigot, Haiti, where she is known for her success in preventing maternal deaths.
Fiona Sampson, founder and CEO of Equality Effect, an international network of human rights advocates working collaboratively to ensure governments in Commonwealth countries uphold, enforce, and protect the rights of women and girls.

Read more about Women in Global Health and the Heroines for Health here.

Read more about IntraHealth’s work in Mali here.

Mali World Health Assembly Health Workforce & Systems Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity

IntraHealth International to Lead $4.9 Million Health Workforce Strengthening Effort in Mali

intrahealth — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 17:10:44 +0000

IntraHealth International to Lead $4.9 Million Health Workforce Strengthening Effort in Mali intrahealth July 17, 2017 July 17, 2017

Through a new $4.9 million, three-year award from the US Agency for International Development, IntraHealth International will partner with the government of Mali to strengthen its health workforce, scale up progress in maternal and child survival, and protect its citizens from emerging health threats such as Ebola and pandemic influenza.

Mali has significantly reduced its maternal, newborn, and under-five mortality rates in the last twenty years. But despite these efforts, the country continues to have some of the highest rates of preventable maternal and child deaths in the world, due in part to a severe shortage of qualified health workers. This same shortage also makes Mali vulnerable to emerging infectious diseases and other health security threats.

The World Health Organization recommends at least 2.3 doctors, nurses, and midwives per 1,000 people to provide basic health services, but Mali has only 0.41 per 1,000 people. Recruitment and retention in rural and peri-urban areas are ongoing challenges exacerbated by Mali’s fast-growing population (which has an annual growth rate of 3%) and the ongoing instability and conflict in the northern part of the country. Most qualified health workers are concentrated in Bamako and other urban areas.

The USAID/Mali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity will help build a strong and connected health workforce to realize Mali’s 10-year health and social development goals as well as the objectives of the US Global Health Security Agenda. The project will:

Build Mali’s capacity to coordinate an effective response to global health security threats.
Improve the management and use of health workforce data for use in planning and decision-making.
Strengthen preservice health education.
Apply evidence-based recruitment, retention, and motivation strategies to ramp up staffing levels in the health facilities most in need.

The project will build on IntraHealth’s 16 years of experience collaborating with the government of Mali and the US Agency for International Development to improve the accessibility and quality of health services throughout the country, including by improving maternal and child health services, preservice education, information systems, and obstetric fistula care and prevention, and by supporting coalitions of civil society organizations to become effective advocates for family planning. The project will be led by Dr. Jeanne Tessougué, a public health professional with more than ten years of experience leading and managing health programs.

IntraHealth will lead this work in close collaboration with the government of Mali and other national stakeholders in accordance with the country’s Human Resources for Health Policy and Strategic Plan.

Mali Infectious Diseases Maternal, Newborn, & Child Health Global health security Health Workforce & SystemsPhotograph by Trevor Snapp for IntraHealth InternationalMali Human Resources for Health Strengthening Activity