The EnDPoint II project implementation held a very productive Community Advisory Board (CAB) meeting in the Bu’i town of the Soddo district, one of the implementation districts, on December 16th, 2023.
The main participants were community members, community elders, religious leaders, and service users. Other participants came from the local health centre, district primary hospital, district health office, district education office, district women and children affairs office, the police, the district NCD/NTD offices and non-governmental organizations operating in the area.
Co-lead of the EnDPoINT Phase Two Project and CDT-Africa Centre Leader, Professor Abebaw Fekadu, welcomed participants and pointed out the key role the CAB members play in the success of the project. He explained the commendable role the CAB played during the phase I implementation process which was critical for the success of the overall project. He called for similar commitment and ownership during the Phase II of the project implementation.
Dr. Asrat Mengiste, NTD Technical Advisor at CDT-Africa, presented the general overview of the EnDPoINT phase II project. After the presentation, participants thoroughly discussed the importance of the project and expressed their commitment towards its successful implementation.
Participants agreed to build on the experience of the Phase I project implementation in terms of CAB members’ responsibilities. They discussed awareness-raising activities that need to be carried out to sensitize the community on the availability of chronic wound treatment at health facilities, and awareness-raising activities to change attitudes and practices around chronic wound treatment & care. They also discussed the importance of closely working with health extension workers for the detection and referral of patients with chronic wounds to health centres as these health extension works reach every household in the community.
Theory of Change workshop
A Theory of Change (TOC) workshop was later held on the same day in Soddo. The workshop discussed the TOC map and received input for the development of a holistic chronic wound care package.
All the CAB members participated in the ToC meeting, which was a culmination of a series of ToC meetings. Important inputs regarding the intervention components and their practical implementation were obtained.
