Integrating Routine Diabetes Service Provision Across Healthcare Facilities in Liberia

Objectives

- Enhance the leadership capacity of county health teams to deliver diabetes services at selected health facilities
- Develop policy instruments/documents to govern the delivery of non-communicable disease (NCD) services nationally
- Provide increased access to quality diabetes services at selected health facilities
- Create demand for high-quality diabetes services
- Effectively manage data for diabetes services provision

Approach

This Ministry of Health (MoH)-led project will start by reviewing, harmonising and adopting relevant tools (standard treatment guidelines and protocols, M&E indicators and ledgers, community health forms, IEC materials, drug requisition forms, etc) which will be used to train health care professionals (HCPs). These personnel when trained will be empowered to provide leadership and services related to diabetes care at the selected health facilities.

In this way, the provision of diabetes services will become routine during regular out-patient and in-patient care across the 24 secondary and 2 tertiary health facilities targeted. Diabetes indicators and data collection forms will be integrated in the regular M&E activities of the Ministry. Also, this project will ensure continuous requisition and supply of diabetes commodities at participating health facilities, with the objective of integrating these commodities in drug distribution programmes in the country.

The project also seeks to work with communities to identify cultural, religious, or social barriers to accessing diabetes care. These will be addressed through contextual community awareness programmes that target service users, religious, traditional and influential community leaders, as well as traditional healers. The project will establish patient focus/self-help/support groups in communities as a means of encouraging treatment, diet adherence, and healthy living amongst persons living with diabetes. Religious leaders, traditional healers and influential leaders will serve as ambassadors for communicating behavioural change messages. Social barriers that pose a threat to effective diabetes management will be addressed through relevant community structures.

As a means of bridging healthcare between communities and health facilities, we seek to work with the community health programme to integrate diabetes care into already existing community health tools. Community health workers (CHWs) will be trained in diabetes management through other existing community health division programmes. This will enable them to provide the relevant care at the community level and work with these tools during their routine community outreach activities.

Results at completion

- 750 HCPs trained (82 doctors, 430 nurses, 238 midwives and physician assistants) representing 27 diabetes clinics
- 258,739 persons screened for diabetes
- 31,175 patients treated at established clinics
- 9,109 women screened for HIP
- 2,736 patients with TB screened for diabetes

Project information

  • Project Nr.:
    WDF20-1743
  • Project status:
    Completed
  • Intervention areas:
    Access to care
    Advocacy and stakeholder engagement
  • Region:
    Africa
  • Country:
    Liberia
  • Partners:
    Ministry of Health
    Republic of Liberia
  • Project period:
    2020 2024
  • Project budget:
    USD 1,094,160.00
  • WDF contribution:
    USD 1,094,160.00