Time: 1.00–3.00 pm (Dakar) 3.00–4.00 pm (Paris)
Language: This webinar will be held in French
Registration: https://y.uca.fr/sante.communautaire
Description
Public health is shaped at the local level, at the intersection of social and cultural dynamics and the practices of those working on the ground. In this context, community-based approaches play a central role in addressing the determinants of health in a sustainable manner, by recognising communities as active agents in the changes that affect them.
This webinar will focus on sharing experiences from a community health initiative in Saint-Louis (Senegal), led by Abdou Khaly Mbodj and the Dëkkandoo consortium. Focusing on nutrition, women’s empowerment and local development, this initiative draws on a broad network of community stakeholders and combines on-the-ground activities (gardens, income-generating activities, monitoring children’s growth) with local capacity-building, based on a philosophy of working with and through communities.
Through this initiative, we will explore, in a practical and operational way, how community-led initiatives are developed and implemented, particularly with regard to empowering communities.
Two panellists will provide insights into the challenges, implementation conditions and lessons that can be applied to other contexts, with a view to promoting health.
The discussions will be structured around three questions:
- How can we work effectively with communities in specific local contexts?
- What factors – as well as what challenges or difficulties – are involved in implementing a community-based approach to health?
- What lessons can be drawn from this experience for action and practice in other contexts?
Our guest
Abdou Khaly Mbodj is a PhD student in community health at Alioune Diop University in Bambey, Senegal. He is the coordinator of the Dëkkandoo consortium, through which he oversees the implementation of the Saint-Louis Nutrition Strengthening Project (PRN2S), an initiative rooted in local community dynamics that combines nutrition, development and community empowerment. Working at the interface between research and practice, he is also an associate lecturer on the professional bachelor’s degree programme in health education and promotion at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, run in partnership with the UNESCO Chair in Global Health & Education.
Panellists
Julie Sackou is a pharmacist and full professor of hygiene and public health at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences at Félix Houphouët-Boigny University (Côte d’Ivoire). Holder of a University Diploma in Health Education from Sorbonne Paris Nord University, she develops training and research activities focused on public health and community health. She is responsible for community health placements within her faculty, contributing to the practical training of students in line with real-world conditions. She also holds institutional responsibilities as Head of Department at the Centre for Research and Studies in Population Health, Health Policies and Health Systems at the National Institute of Public Health of Côte d’Ivoire. She is also Editor-in-Chief of the Côte d’Ivoire Public Health Bulletin.
Eric Breton is Chair of the Health Promotion Section of EUPHA. He is a professor of health promotion at the École des hautes études en santé publique (EHESP). Before settling in France, he gained extensive international research experience in Canada, Australia and the United Arab Emirates. His research focuses primarily on strategies for promoting policies to prevent non-communicable diseases, the evaluation of complex community interventions, and strategies for building local capacity in health and equity. He is an affiliated researcher with the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education and sits on various national and regional expert groups. In 2020, he co-edited with three other editors the second edition of the first health promotion handbook in French, a publication that drew on contributions from 40 authors across six countries.
Moderator
Jean-Christophe Azorin is an associate professor off the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education. He works with various organisations focusing on community health, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Vietnam. He advises local authorities on the implementation of public health programmes aimed at the general population. Jean-Christophe Azorin is the founder and President of Participe Santé and Editor-in-Chief of the Revue Santé Scolaire et Universitaire, published by Elsevier.
