The Challenge Initiative (TCI) recently convened teams from all six of its regional and country hubs for a week-long learning exchange in Nairobi, Kenya. Hosted by TCI’s East Africa hub, city managers from East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda), Francophone West Africa, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines had an opportunity to share ideas, review processes, and learn strategies for supporting local governments in implementing TCI’s high-impact interventions within their respective hubs.
The visiting teams also engaged with local government implementers during a field visit to two TCI sites in Nairobi and Kajiado Counties. The visits offered participants a first-hand look at how TCIs interventions are being implemented in East Africa. In Nairobi, participants met with TCI coaches, who shared how they are integrating family planning services into their health systems to maximize reach and impact. Joy Oropesa, a City Technical Lead from the Philippines, noted:
Whether it is navigating the health environments or addressing cultural barriers, seeing what the coaches have achieved is a reflection of how the collaborative nature of TCI has facilitated adoption of family planning interventions.”
Participants who visited Kajiado reported gaining valuable insights into how TCI tailors its interventions to meet reproductive health needs at the community level. They noted that the community-based interventions they observed effectively addressed local needs and highlighted the important roles that leaders and health workers play in promoting the acceptance and use of family planning services. Cynthia Omonye is a City Manager from Nigeria, who shared:
The context underscored the adaptability of TCI’s model and the necessity of culturally sensitive approaches. The learning exchange visit was more than a learning opportunity; it was a testament to the power of TCI as a platform for collaboration with local governments.”
The insights gained and the connections forged during the visit will undoubtedly influence and enhance TCI’s family planning programs across the hubs. Hina Mehrotra, the Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation Manager from India, said:
We are a world apart, yet there are many similar ways of doing things. We have found a comparable way or common ground to scale TCIs high-impact interventions and processes.”
Aziza Burfat from Pakistan expressed gratitude to the organizers for the opportunity to learn from her peers:
As we return to our respective regions, we carry a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. Indeed, it was a time to review the enduring legacies, share lessons learned and best practices, and collate successes and challenges for next phase of TCI.”
The shared experiences and adaptations discussed during the visit will help drive continued innovation and improvement in supporting local governments to implement interventions, ultimately contributing to better health outcomes. TCI’s Chief of Party for East Africa, Dr. Njeri Nyamu, reflecting on the learning exchange, shared:
This learning exchange has underscored that while each hub operates in a unique context, collective effort and shared learning are key to advancing family planning initiatives and achieving global health objectives.”
