Dr. Khalifa Elmusharaf led a group that used an Innovative Participatory Health Education (IPHE) approach in Renk County, Sudan. They worked with local women, students, NGO employees, and a theatrical band to identify key women's health issues. The group then created pictograms, songs, and dramas in local languages to educate the community. In parallel, a Reproductive Health Project Management (RHPM) training workshop built the skills of local health officers to develop reproductive health projects addressing the issues identified through IPHE. The IPHE and RHPM approaches successfully engaged community members and health officers to promote knowledge of maternal health issues in the region.

1. Dr. Khalifa Elmusharaf, MBBS, PGDip, FRSPH (UK)
PhD researcher Health System & Policy (Ireland)
Head of Reproductive & Child Health Research Unit 'RCRU’
University of Medical Sciences & Technology (Sudan)
www.rcru.org www.facebook.com/groups/rcru.org www.youtube.com/rcrutv

2. Innovative approaches
IPHE:Local problems, local solutions
RHPM: Research & Advocacy

3. IPHE

4. IPHE Innovative Participatory Health Education
Local problems ,
local solutions

5. The Process
• Based on our success and the experiences
gained from PEER, Global Health through
Education, Training and Services (GHETS.org)
funded us with a mini grant to pilot an
innovative participatory health educational
approach in Renk County, South Sudan.

6. We designed and
conducted an
Innovative
Participatory Health
Education Project
‘IPHE’.
Dr. Khalifa Elmusharaf led a group of twelve students from University of Medical
Sciences & Technology (UMST), 2 employees of local NGO, 10 local women (PEER
researchers) and 10 local theatrical band members in Renk County, in working
together to identify the most important issues related to women's health in their
community based of PEER findings. They developed context-friendly materials and
delivered it to a local community in the form of pictograms, songs, and drama.

7. Local women

8. Local NGOs Employees

9. Theatrical band members

10. Students

12. We should reduce heavy work from foods for
Families, we should provide healthypregnant the pregnant
women that would benefit their unborn babies, like fruits,
vegetables, eggs and milk

13. Families, we should provide healthy foods for the pregnant
women that would benefit their unborn babies, like fruits,
vegetables, eggs and milk

17. Watch IPHE Short documentary film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHLfGAP0N6k

18. RHPM
RHMP Reproductive Health Project Management
Advocacy and health
promotion

19. RHPM
A parallel 4 days training workshop was conducted on
Reproductive Health Project Management.
This training
workshop
targeted 10
senior officers
in MOH in the
Renk County

20. RHPM Goals
• The primary goal
To advocate for maternal health
• The secondary goals
• To increase their knowledge, awareness
and skills to help them developing,
RHPM implementing, assessing, monitoring and
evaluating health projects in the field of
reproductive health in this post conflict
setting.

21. RHPM
They depended on
the list of maternal
health issues
generated by the
IPHE’s participants
to develop two
reproductive health
project proposals.

22. RHPM
In the last day of
the workshop, we
brought them all
together; the local
people and senior
officers; to discuss
maternal health
issues in their area.

23. RHPM
The senior officers
presented their
assignments (2
reproductive health
project proposals) in
front of the IPHE’s
participants who gave
them feedback and
comments.

24. RHPM
At the end of this
project the senior
officers and IPHE’s
participants’
understanding of
maternal health issues
in Renk County was
enhanced

25. RHPM
The learning and
behavioural change
happened during the
process of developing
and delivering of the
educational materials.

26. RHPM
The local community
understood,
appreciated and
enjoyed the delivered
materials since they
were tailored and
conveyed by their
local people.

27. RHPM
The senior officers
said that this
approach helped them
to identify the
maternal health issues
through the lenses of
their local people
which will influence
their decision making.

28. RHPM
IPHE Approach
engaged senior
officers with
community members
and promoted their
knowledge about
maternal health issues

29. RHPM
Involving local
theatrical band
members and
employees from local
women organization
will help ensure the
sustainability of this
project