Third Quarterly Report: HealthPRO Project Year 3

The report highlights the accomplishments of the Health Promotion and Communication Project under University Research Co., LLC's Contract No. GHS-I-00-07-00010, prepared for USAID/Philippines. The HealthPRO Project aims to improve health outcomes through behavioral changes among patients, clients, and their communities. The project focuses on Maternal, Neonatal, Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN), Family Planning (FP), Tuberculosis (TB), and HIV-AIDS, as well as other infectious diseases like Avian Influenza (AI) and H1N1. The expected outcomes of the project include positive behavioral results among individuals and caregivers, increased capacity of national and local institutions in carrying out effective health promotion strategies, and improved coordination and integration of governmental and non-governmental health promotion activities. During the third quarter of Year 3, HealthPRO simplified the Behavior Change Communication (BCC) planning process for Local Government Units (LGUs) and conducted provincial BCC planning workshops for 10 Wave 2 provinces. The project also worked closely with the National Committee on Health Promotion (NCHP) in developing the national Family Planning Communication Strategy and Package, which was adopted by NCHP and launched as the Department of Health (DOH) FP Communication Strategy during the Family Planning Health Fair. HealthPRO updated and revised its community mobilization strategy, which was presented to USAID and shared with Local Radio Agencies (LRAs), LGUs, Provincial Health Offices (PHOs), Municipal Health Offices (MHOs), and partner NGOs and people's organizations in the Wave 1 sites. The project conducted community mobilization orientation in six provinces using the revised strategy and a newly-developed community mobilization toolkit. HealthPRO also continued to support community mobilization initiatives of community-based organizations and social networks. Several campaigns were conducted during the quarter, including the Garantisadong Pambata national campaign, the FP Health Fair, and the Safe Motherhood campaign. HealthPRO provided technical assistance to DOH in developing the communication package for Safe Motherhood, which was distributed to the 11 City Health Departments (CHDs) and 23 PHOs of USAID-assisted provinces. At the local level, HealthPRO continued to support LGUs in celebrating various health-related events. Mass media played a central role during the quarter, with PROBE Media's campaign proposal, Lakbay Buhay Kalusugan, presented to USAID and other cooperating agencies. HealthPRO's technical assistance to DOH in launching the communication strategy and package generated close to PhP 7,308,500 worth of public relations or publicity mileage and saw significant placement in major print broadsheets and television news programs. HealthPRO trained 665 Health Service Providers (HSPs) and Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) in IPC/C, who in turn counseled thousands of men and women on FP and MNCHN. The project emphasized the importance of Interpersonal Communication and Values (ICV) and trained Wave 1 LRA staff on ICV. Trained HealthPRO and LRA staff conducted ICV monitoring and noted vulnerabilities or potential violations. HealthPRO continued to collaborate and coordinate with other USAID Country Assistance (CAs) in different activities, including the inter-CA Strategies to Increase the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR), MNCHN-related activities, ARMM Leadership Training Program, ARMM image-building, TWG meetings and activities, COP meetings, and regional and LGU level meetings. To enhance its monitoring, HealthPRO initiated the engagement process for TNS, a market research firm, to conduct a study on the recall and comprehension of HealthPRO campaign messages. HealthPRO processed, finalized, and recruited five nongovernment organizations as Wave 2 LRAs. The orientation of the LRAs' key staff has been scheduled. On the management side, HealthPRO recruited/moved 5 staff and identified 5 candidates to be hired. HealthPRO also conducted its second and third partnership meeting with its Wave 1 LRAs and identified the LRAs for Wave 2 provinces. Among the challenges encountered by HealthPRO were expectations from partners on technical assistance coverage, fast track hiring of additional staff, and other logistical issues.