Reposted from Bull City Learning
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bull City Learning announces recipients of Next Generation Immunization Training Grants
October 25, 2017 – Durham, N.C. – Bull City Learning is pleased to announce three recipients of Next Generation Immunization Training grants. The grants fund innovative training and capacity building solutions that will strengthen national immunization programs in meaningful and measurable ways.
Nearly $900,000 has been awarded across 18 months to support the development and implementation of creative strategies deployed by grant recipients to motivate and educate immunization professionals, including health workers, EPI managers, and logistics specialists.
“The global community has set aggressive goals for increasing immunization coverage that will require more effective learning strategies,” said Nathan Pienkowksi, PhD, Bull City Learning co-founder and head of instructional design.
“Each winning initiative embodies the innovation that is necessary to break through the training barriers that continue to impede immunization system performance and equitable access to vaccines for all children.”
The Next Generation Immunization Training Grant recipients include Erasmus MC, JSI Research & Training Institute, and VillageReach.
Erasmus MC (The Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands) “Speaking Book” initiative will develop and implement an audio visual tool to train primary health workers (PHWs) to strengthen the EPI program in The Gambia. The “Speaking Book” will support learning when low literacy is a factor and foster understanding and retention of information for key focus areas identified by in-country EPI managers.
JSI (John Snow, Inc.) Research & Training Institute’s “Peer Mentorship and WhatsApp” initiative will seek to strengthen the immunization services at public health facilities in western Kenya by leveraging the demonstrated competence of frontline nurses within a peer mentorship program to effectively teach and reinforce critical immunization skills and processes. This formalized, face-to-face peer mentorship program will be supported by WhatsApp groups to strengthen networking and communication among nurses.
VillageReach’s “Interactive User Guide for Cold Chain Technicians” initiative will focus on improving cold chain equipment performance and uptime through the development and launch of an interactive preventative maintenance and repair application for use by cold chain technicians in Malawi. The user-centered application will supplement existing training efforts of cold chain technicians with hands on, practical training and an innovative user guide to serve as a job aid.
Next Generation Immunization Training initiatives are each replicable, sustainable, and scalable within a low-resource setting, which may ultimately bring effective immunization training solutions to other high-need regions.
“We look forward to working with these excellent grantees and seeing the positive impact their innovations will have on capacity building strategies that achieve immunization program goals,” said Pienkowski.
The Next Generation Training Grant is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and overseen by Bull City Learning. Bull City Learning (BCL) is a digital learning agency located in Durham, North Carolina, “The Bull City.” BCL creates compelling, media-rich learning experiences and offers extensive experience developing global health capacity building strategies to strengthen immunization systems. Learn more at www.bullcitylearning.com and www.bullcitylearning.com/nextgen
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About VillageReach
VillageReach transforms health care delivery to reach everyone, so that each person has the health care needed to thrive. We develop solutions that improve equity and access to primary health care. This includes making sure products are available when and where they are needed and primary health care services are delivered to the most under-reached. Radical collaboration with governments, the private sector and other partners strengthen our ability to scale and sustain these solutions. Our work increases access to quality health care for 46 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.
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