Abstract
In the context of slow progress towards Millennium Development Goals for child and maternal health, an innovative participatory training programme in the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of Maternal and Newborn Health programmes was developed and delivered in six developing countries. The training, for health professionals and programme managers, aimed: (i) to strengthen participants’ skills in M&E to enable more effective targeting of resources, and (ii) to build the capacity of partner institutions hosting the training to run similar courses. This review aims to assess the extent to which these goals were met and elicit views on ways to improve the training.An online survey of training participants and structured interviews with stakeholders were undertaken. Data from course reports were also incorporated. There was clearly a benefit to participants in terms of improved knowledge and skills. There is also some evidence that this translated into action through M&E implementation and tool development. Evidence of capacity-building at an institutional level was limited.Lessons for professional development training can be drawn from several aspects of the training programme that were found to facilitate learning, engagement and application. These include structuring courses around participant material, focussing on the development of practical action plans and involving multi-disciplinary teams. The need for strengthening follow-up and embedding it throughout the training was highlighted to overcome the challenges to applying learning in the ‘real world’.
Highlights
Progress towards Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5 regarding child and maternal health respectively, are significantly off-track and each year millions of women and children continue to die from preventable causes during pregnancy and childbirth (World Health Organization and UNICEF, 2010)
The strengths most frequently mentioned related to the expertise ‘lecturers are expert in their field’ (Indonesia) and diversity of the facilitating teams, using relevant and practical examples within country contexts [‘... the methodology of training allow practicing according to country status and context’ (Bangladesh)], inter-country exchange or ‘Sharing ...lessons learned from other countries’ (Bangladesh) and an interactive and participatory learning environment
There was clearly a benefit to participants in terms of their learning and behaviour from the participatory monitoring and evaluation (M&E) training programme provided by Ipact and partners
Summary
Progress towards Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5 regarding child and maternal health respectively, are significantly off-track and each year millions of women and children continue to die from preventable causes during pregnancy and childbirth (World Health Organization and UNICEF, 2010). The recent Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health identified ‘strengthening countries’ capacity to monitor and evaluate’ as a key principle in ensuring that interventions and investment aimed at improving maternal health translate into tangible results and better long-term outcomes (United Nations Secretary General, 2010). The literature indicates that it is important that continuing education should promote problem-solving and critical thinking and not just be lecture-dominated, episodic and non-reinforcing. It should include interaction between learners and providers, be based on current www.ccsenet.org/gjhs
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