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The Geneva Learning Foundation

The Geneva Learning Foundation

Written by: The Geneva Learning Foundation
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 The Geneva Learning Foundation is a Swiss non-profit with the mission to develop, trial, and scale up new ways to lead change to tackle the challenges that threaten our societies. The Foundation’s unique approach to education as a philosophy for change fosters the emergence of self-motivated learners who become leaders for change. The podcast is a crossroads for a new kind of dialogue – and an opportunity to listen in. A broad range of topics are covered, ranging from immunization to women's health, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), neglected tropical diseases (NTD), humanitarian response, digital communication, and leadership for learning. The common thread is the Foundation’s mission to support practitioners to find better ways to learn and lead to face the threats to our societies. Our podcast includes the best of our live-streamed content in a convenient, low-bandwidth audio format that you can listen to anywhere, any time.The Geneva Learning Foundation Hygiene & Healthy Living Physical Illness & Disease
Episodes
  • New ways to learn and lead HPV vaccination: Indian Society for Adult Immunization (ISAI)

    New ways to learn and lead HPV vaccination: Indian Society for Adult Immunization (ISAI)
    Feb 15 2025
    Global health initiative reveals new insights on HPV vaccination through peer learning Learn more: https://www.learning.foundation/teachtoreach A new approach to implementing HPV vaccination programs is yielding unexpected insights by connecting thousands of health workers across the globe to share their frontline experiences. The Geneva Learning Foundation's "Teach to Reach" initiative has engaged over 16,000 health professionals to address implementation challenges in HPV vaccination programs. "Evidence suggests that challenges in implementing and sustaining HPV vaccination in developing countries are significantly influenced by gaps between planning at national level and execution at local levels," says Rydda Sattky, Executive Director of the Geneva Learning Foundation. Bridging the implementation gap The initiative takes a different approach from traditional expert committees. Instead of relying solely on high-level expertise, it creates structured opportunities for health workers to share their direct experiences implementing HPV vaccination programs. Through a five-step process, the program collects and analyzes experiences from frontline health workers, deepens understanding through case studies, and connects these insights to national-level planning. The approach has revealed several unexpected findings. In some regions, tribal communities showed less vaccine hesitancy than urban populations. Teachers emerged as more influential than health workers in certain contexts, and personal stories proved more persuasive than statistical evidence. "Success often proved independent of resource levels," notes Sattky, highlighting how informal networks and bottom-up strategies frequently outperformed more traditional approaches. Practical solutions from the field The initiative has documented numerous successful strategies emerging from local implementation: - Using cancer survivors as advocates - Creating WhatsApp groups for community health workers - Engaging school children as messengers to families - Integrating with existing women's groups - Leveraging religious texts - Using community theater for health communication In January 2024, the program expanded to include national immunization program managers from 31 countries, creating direct connections between national planning and local implementation experiences. Building sustainable programs The findings point to several key factors for successful HPV vaccination programs. Multi-stakeholder engagement, sustained communication rather than one-time campaigns, and strong school system partnerships emerged as critical elements. The research also highlighted the importance of male community leaders as vaccination advocates, despite the program's focus on adolescent girls. "Uniquely, Teach to Reach provides a way to link health professionals together so that they can share experiences about what works," said Dr. Kate O'Brien and Ephraim T. Lomango from WHO and UNICEF, who lead immunization efforts globally. The initiative includes participation from both government and civil society organizations, with many participants working in challenging contexts such as remote rural areas, supporting nomadic populations, or facing armed conflict. Measuring impact The program has demonstrated measurable effects on participating health workers, showing: - 45% stronger change in worldview - 49% higher professional influence - 41% greater impact on professional practice These results suggest that peer learning networks can serve as valuable complements to traditional expert-led approaches in global health initiatives. Looking ahead The Geneva Learning Foundation continues to develop this approach, emphasizing continuous learning and improvement cycles. The initiative demonstrates how connecting frontline experiences to national policy can strengthen health systems and improve vaccination program outcomes. The work forms part of broader efforts to achieve the goals of Immunization Agenda 2030, which aims to ensure all people benefit from recommended immunizations throughout their lives.
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    26 mins
  • PEN-H essential guidance for NCD care in humanitarian settings

    PEN-H essential guidance for NCD care in humanitarian settings
    Feb 14 2025
    # PEN-H essential guidance for NCD care in humanitarian settings 13 April 2020 The Package of Essential NCD Interventions for Humanitarian Settings (PEN-H), published by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in 2020, remains a valuable but underutilized resource for humanitarian health practitioners. This guide addresses specific challenges in delivering care for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in crisis situations. It was launched during a lively special event hosted by The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) on April 13, 2020, with PEN-H’s leader author and TGLF co-founder Dr. Shanthi Mendis and IRC’s Dr. Laura Miller responding to questions from 754 health workers, primarily from developing countries. Dr. Shanthi Mendis, who is also the principal author of the original WHO Package of Essential NCD Interventions (WHO-PEN), explains why this guidance remains relevant: “When humanitarian emergencies occur in any part of the world, people caught in these situations will include many with NCDs, some diagnosed and some undiagnosed. The stressful situation itself will make people develop acute exacerbations.” Current data shows hypertension affects approximately 25% of populations globally, while diabetes prevalence ranges from 6% to 15%. These conditions become particularly challenging in crisis situations where healthcare systems are disrupted and resources are limited. ## Specific challenges in humanitarian settings Laura Miller from IRC identified three persistent challenges that make the PEN-H guidance essential: “Several countries affected by conflict have had a higher burden of NCDs. Specifically Syria, Libya, Yemen – these conflicts have continued for many years, meaning that there have been many more people who have died unnecessarily due to NCDs.” She highlighted particular concerns in refugee settings: “In refugee camp settings, such as in Kenya and Thailand, where refugees have been living for two to three decades, we have seen increasing rates of NCDs due to exposure to unhealthy risk factors – inability to access healthy foods, lack of space to be physically active, and increased stress resulting in use of tobacco and alcohol.” The third challenge involves healthcare delivery systems. Miller noted: “The clinical guidelines and standards really vary in countries and contexts. In some places where we work, there are Ministry of Health clinical guidelines. In other places, clinicians use MSF guidelines. But in many countries where you have extremely weak health systems or failed states, the clinical guidelines have not been updated in many years.” ## Practical guidance for critical care PEN-H provides specific protocols for managing NCD emergencies in resource-limited settings. Dr. Mendis detailed the most critical scenarios: “When you take non-communicable diseases, there are certain emergencies that are likely to occur, particularly in the acute response stage in the first week or so. People will die from NCDs within the acute phase from conditions like acute coronary syndrome, acute heart failure, stroke, hypertension emergency, diabetic ketoacidosis, acute asthma exacerbation, and status epilepticus.” The guide includes practical interventions for situations where hospital referral is impossible: “If the patient is breathless, you could sit the patient up. You can give oxygen if available. If the blood pressure is very low, you can raise the foot end of the bed. An intravenous line is set up for most acutely ill patients, ensuring they receive intravenous fluids when unable to take anything orally.” ## Supporting community health workers PEN-H includes eight specific protocols for community health workers, recognizing their essential role in crisis response. These protocols cover patient counseling, advice on tobacco cessation, guidance on harmful use of alcohol, diet, physical activity, and medicine use. ## Development implications The guide addresses broader societal impacts of NCDs in humanitarian settings. “If you let people die prematurely under the age of 70, you are losing breadwinners of families,” Dr. Mendis explained. “This affects family income and creates long-term healthcare costs. By prevention, you save money, and this is a major development issue for countries.” ## Accessing the guidance The PEN-H guide remains available in English, French, and Arabic. The 2020 launch event provides additional context and implementation insights from humanitarian health practitioners. IRC developed this resource to address a critical gap in humanitarian healthcare delivery. As Miller stated: “We had to prioritize this as part of our mission of ensuring people remain healthy within humanitarian contexts.”
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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Europe-wide Network supporting Ukrainian Children announces first 34 Focal points (11 February 2025)

    Europe-wide Network supporting Ukrainian Children announces first 34 Focal points (11 February 2025)
    Feb 13 2025
    # Europe-wide Network supporting Ukrainian Children through Psychological First Aid (PFA) announces first 34 Focal points A Europe-wide initiative to support Ukrainian children through psychological first aid (PFA) marked several key developments during its February 11, 2025, Leaders and Partners meeting. The Certificate peer learning programme on Psychological First Aid (PFA) in support of children affected by the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine provides innovative opportunities to strengthen immediate mental health support to children in crisis, is rapidly scaling up into a comprehensive network spanning 27 countries. ## First wave of PFA Focal Points The initiative announced its first 34 PFA focal points - volunteer representatives who will coordinate support within their organizations and regions. While most focal points are based in Ukraine working directly in fragile contexts, the network includes practitioners from Poland, Romania, and Iceland, creating a bridge between local needs and international support. ## Building local capacity “We work with children in Kyiv region, Ivano-Frankivsk region, Chernihiv region, and Sumy region. We travel to locations and conduct psychosocial sessions with children,” explained I. from Yellow-Blue Wings, describing their direct work with affected communities. “When I went through this training that lasted several weeks, it was both learning and active participation... you felt like you leveled up a bit,” shared A. from Platform of Unity, a Ukrainian humanitarian organization working in the Kharkiv region. ## Practical peer learning approach The program combines several key elements: - Certificate-based peer learning exercises providing structured training - Bi-weekly “PFA Connect” sessions for rapid knowledge exchange - New courses based on practitioners’ real-world experiences - An Impact Accelerator to support practical implementation ## Measuring impact on children A new measurement tool is being developed by this network to evaluate effectiveness of support to children at the local level. The tool examines children’s functioning, well-being, distress levels, coping ability, social behavior, and connectedness. ## Cross-border collaboration “This is just a wonderful way of connecting with others across the world who are dealing with the same challenges and issues and concerns and learning from each other,” noted W. from a National Red Cross. ## Looking ahead The program aims to reach 4,100 professionals by June 2025. The next “PFA Connect” peer learning session on February 12 will address three critical topics: recognizing severe reactions in children, managing multiple children in crisis, and providing remote psychological support. The initiative, funded through the EU4Health program, represents a shift from traditional training approaches by emphasizing peer learning and practical implementation while maintaining professional standards through certification. These regular Leaders and Partners meetings ensure the program continues to evolve based on practitioners’ needs and experiences in supporting children affected by the ongoing crisis.
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    53 mins
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