With the continuous partnership of UNICEF, The Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training (LOST) launched the Health project of 2017. The project duration for this year will be for 8 months, starting in April and ending in December. This project is based on the previous successful efforts that were carried out by LOST and UNICEF in 2016.
Titled “Community Engagement and Empowerment in Public Health Discussions”, this project aims at engaging women from 45 different areas in the region of Baalbeck-Hermel province, via messages that enable them to understand the benefits of breastfeeding, optimal infant and young child feeding practices, immunization, and the service provision at MOPH Primary Health Care centers (PHCCs). LOST has assigned educators that will be delivering the messages in two different ways, door-to-door discussions and group discussions, with the assistance of lead mothers from the community. The educators have taken different TOTs (Training of Trainers) from UNICEF, to understand the messages and how to communicate those messages to the beneficiaries.
Moreover, lead mothers will be chosen volunteers from different areas in Baalbeck-Hermel, who will also undergo five days of training at LOST headquarters in Baalbeck, in an effort to influence the targeted women, and to create sustainable mother support groups embedded within the community on the topics highlighted above. In addition to the educators and the lead moms, professional assistance will be provided to the targeted women through midwives trained on technical breastfeeding support, which will be chosen by LOST at two different locations, Baalbeck and Hermel. Educators will use referral mechanisms to refer women that are facing problems related to breastfeeding and lactation to the midwives.
The project targets women that are pregnant and women that have children under the age of 2 years. The educators are expected to deliver different messages that include the following: the importance of nutrition during pregnancy, the importance of breastfeeding, steps for having a successful breastfeeding routine, exclusive breastfeeding for the age of 6 months, supplementary feeding after the age of 6 months, and immunizations at PHCCs. In addition to the above, the educators received training on communication skills at LOST.
The project will also include a component to enhance municipalities’ engagement in public health and water and sanitation strategic planning. This component will be implemented in partnership with the water and energy sector in three villages in Baalbeck-Hermel, where public development committees will be created in coordination with the municipalities. These committees will be trained on strategic planning, project design and other technical components to create a development plan based on community assessments. These committees will also be responsible for implementing one project in each municipality based on the concluded needs and technical assessments.
