Breakthrough RESEARCH’s evaluation of Breakthrough ACTION Nigeria’s community capacity strengthening approach

Six domains of community capacity include social cohesion, collective efficacy, type of leadership, participation/self-efficacy, conflict management, and effective leadership. Research has documented the positive effects of increased social cohesion, trust, social capital, and perceived collective self-efficacy on infant and child health outcomes, such as reduced mortality in children under 5 years old. In Nigeria, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency adopted the Ward Health System in 2000 to strengthen the primary health care system. The ward development committee (WDC) members are unpaid volunteers who meet regularly to discuss health and development issues, encourage community participation in health, and drive local accountability for healthcare. WDCs provide a platform to facilitate community participation and ownership of community engagement activities for primary health, including community mobilization, maternal, neonatal, child health and nutrition, reproductive health, and health promotion. Breakthrough ACTION + RESEARCH aims to improve health and development outcomes through the integration of proven social and behavior change (SBC) interventions in health and development programs. The organization's objective is to increase the integration of SBC interventions in health and development programs, with a focus on country-driven, high-quality SBC interventions implemented in coordination with global and country leadership. Breakthrough ACTION/Nigeria, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is implementing a community capacity strengthening (CCS) approach that focuses on engaging existing community leaders and structures, namely WDCs, to increase community self-efficacy, coordinate, and support the ward health ecosystem. The CCS approach aims to ensure sustained community-level activities supporting behavior change and positive social norms for improved health outcomes. Breakthrough ACTION/Nigeria's program context involves engaging existing community leaders and structures to increase community self-efficacy, coordinate, and support the ward health ecosystem. The program focuses on increasing community self-efficacy, coordinating, and supporting the ward health ecosystem to ensure sustained community-level activities supporting behavior change and positive social norms for improved health outcomes. Breakthrough ACTION/Nigeria's CCS approach is part of a larger effort to improve health and development outcomes through the integration of proven SBC interventions in health and development programs. The organization's work in Nigeria is focused on engaging existing community leaders and structures to increase community self-efficacy, coordinate, and support the ward health ecosystem. By strengthening community capacity, Breakthrough ACTION/Nigeria aims to improve health outcomes and promote positive social norms in Nigeria.