Vanessa Mitchell, MPH - Knowledge for Health (K4H), Baltimore MD.
Vanessa Mitchell is a Program Specialist working on the Knowedge for Health (K4H) project at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. She is interested in FP/HIV integration, and has shared some highlights from a recent panel discussion that she attended at CEDPA.
Dear friends and colleagues,
On February 13th, 2009, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a panel discussion on Family Planning (FP) and HIV integration at CEDPA, featuring women leaders in the field. Three speakers spoke and shared their real life experiences working in FP and HIV integration in their respective countries. The speakers were: Laurette Cuzuzza, Senior reproductive Health Officer at CEDPA; Leopoldine De Souza Padonou, Public Health Specialist, Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization; Afsheen Ahmed, President of Pakistan Voluntary Health and and Nutrition Association (PAVHNA); and Carol Peasley, the moderator of the discussion, and also the President & CEO of CEDPA. I wanted to take a few minutes and highlight portions of the discussion for those of you who could not attend.
One of the panelists defined integration for the audience, reminding us that it is bi-directional (HIV/AIDS services can be integrated into FP policies and programs, the same way that FP programs can be integrated into HIV/AIDS policies and programs), and has pros and cons. While integrating FP/RH with HIV services can increase peoples’ access to health services, reach more vulnerable people, increase dual protection, decrease duplication of effort, make better use of scarce human resources, reduce HIV related stigma, and improve general quality of care, some of the barriers to integration are very real. These include a lack of funding for training, a lack of political will, unsupportive policies, cultural and religious beliefs, and stigma from some providers who believe that FP/RH should not be integrated with HIV, because PLWHA should not be engaging in sexual activity.
Nevertheless, CEDPA, PAVHNA, and Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization have implemented successful integration programs, not just in FP and HIV/AIDS, but HIV/AIDS and STIs, and HIV/AIDS and safe motherhood, adolescent and reproductive health, Gender and Women’s empowerment, as well as other areas. Each panelist spoke for about 10 minutes on their experiences in-country.
Another panelist explained that programs can become integrated through harmonized policies, IEC strategies, and conducting trainings to exchange skills and knowledge in other areas.
An audience member posed the question:
- "How do we decide whether to integrate services?”
This question is tricky, and unfortunately the panelists’ time was limited. However, it is a very important question to discuss, and something that program managers and planners need to look at closely, and decide what the true value of integrating is for them, in terms of efficiency, costs saved, and lives saved. One of the panelists reminded the audience that family planning can help governments meet almost every single goal. FP can reduce costs for education, reduce maternal and child mortality, reduce transmission of HIV, and it can help to protect the environment.
Some lingering questions from the discussion include:
- How can governments become more supportive of integration programs?
- How can trainings on integration be conducted when community health workers already don’t have time to take away from the clinic? How can they also make time to continuously monitor and evaluate those programs?
- How can existing health centers accommodate the integration of other services?
Although short, I very much enjoyed the discussion and found it to be very informative. The fact that it was women leaders speaking made it even more unique. I learned that integrating programs has so many important benefits and can truly improve peoples’ health and well-being. Program managers should certainly consider it and decide whether integrating services is right for them.
Best regards,
Vanessa