(10 September 2007) A 74% increase in pre-natal check-ups, a 90% increase in pediatric consultations and a 100% increase in infant vaccinations suggest a new approach to health care delivery. And that's exactly what happened in the Fram district of Paraguay, where a community health programme has had such success that it is now being replicated in 35 municipalities.
The online forum on this model, entitled "Successful Solutions for Community Health," will be conducted on Wednesday, 12 September, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm (Chile time; 14:00 to 22:00 GMT), organized by ECLAC.
Discussion will focus on the experience of Fram, in the Department of Itapúa, which took fourth place among 900 candidates in the 2005-2006 round of the "Experiences in Social Innovation" competition held by ECLAC and the Kellogg Foundation.
Services at the local health center in Fram suffered from multiple ills: lack of staff, medicines, equipment; short working hours; lack of contact with the community's real concerns, and a total absence of citizen participation.
The idea behind the transformation came from professionals at the local Health Center and community leaders. With funding from diverse sources and the support of health authorities, they conducted a survey of sanitary and social conditions. The findings were analyzed by the community, which drew up a Local Health Plan to address the needs identified.
The plan includes a community Health Insurance plan open to all residents and a low-cost family supplement. This has brought about increases in both the resources available for community health and community confidence in the Health Center.
Participation in the online forum is easy. To ask questions or make comments, simply open this link -- http://www.risalc.org/ -- and register. Discussion will be led by José Rolón, Health Center director, and María Elisa Bernal, director of the ECLAC/Kellogg competition.
The online forum is being conducted by ECLAC in cooperation with the Network of Latin American and Caribbean Social Institutions (RISALC). Supporting documents for the forum include a review of the project and related United Nations and ECLAC publications.
To participate in the online forum, enter the RISALC section of the ECLAC website, http://www.risalc.org/, and register. For additional information (and in the event of technical problems), contact Marco Ortega at ECLAC, telephone: (56 2) 210 2272 or e-mail: marco.ortega cepal.org. |
