The Capacity Project’s efforts to strengthen health professional associations include a focus on communications skills, to help leaders and members interact effectively with media and policy-makers. A recent example from Uganda shows the impact of these efforts.

Last year the Project helped Uganda’s National Association of Nurses and Midwives to build its communications capacity. During the recent Ebola outbreak, many feared a repeat of the strikes that resulted from a similar outbreak in 2000, when four health workers died due to insufficient supplies and unsafe working environments. Yet this time, nursing leaders applied strategies to hold a press conference to communicate prevention messages, and organized a meeting with policy-makers about the urgent need for supplies and other resources. As a result, those needs were addressed, the public image of nursing was strengthened and a strike avoided.

The Project is tracking and documenting the professional association work in Uganda as well as other countries, and will use this as a basis for lessons learned that will be integrated into a set of guidelines for strengthening work, which can be used in all countries.

March 2008