Our approaches to Public Health
Historically, PALM Corps’ public health sector focused on nutrition projects targeting women and young children. Drawing from implementation experience, the organization has expanded its scope to comprehensively address the health needs of the most vulnerable women and young children. This expanded approach is based on a lifecycle approach, encompassing strategic community health interventions. These interventions aim to promote reproductive, maternal, newborn, young child, and adolescent health and nutrition within the broader context of maternal and child health. By adopting this integrated model, PALM Corps is committed to improving health outcomes and fostering sustainable well-being in the communities it serves.
For Nutrition, We provide community Nutrition Education using Care group approach, Social Behavior Communication Change (SBCC) messages, and promote nutrition sensitive agriculture (production and value addition) to increase access to micro-nutrient rich foods by mothers and children. We empower communities to undertake active screening to identify and manage acute malnutrition (MAM) and refer severe cases (SAM) to health facilities. In partnership with Welthungerhilfe, PALM Corps is piloting a Child Growth Monitor App aimed at digitizing nutrition assessment in children under 5 years. Finally, we support nutrition governance interventions by establishing and empowering nutrition coordination committees in local governments and facilitating community dialogue meetings to address socio-economic and cultural drivers of malnutrition.
Key Intervention areas
- Promote adoption of appropriate MIYCAN practices and access to MIYCAN services.
- Promote access and consumption of nutrient dense foods, particularly iron rich (for women and young children) and protein-rich foods (for young children).
- Empower relevant institutions to deliver nutrition services in a coordinated manner.
- Advocacy and awareness building for local leaders to support WASH programs and projects.
- Social behavior change communication for construction and use of improved sanitation facilities
- Promote sanitation marketing in communities
- Strengthen access to SRH education and services for adolescent girls and young women.
- Empower the women of reproductive age to advocate and have freedom to make SRH decisions.
- Foster a supportive environment for adolescent wellbeing and safety with local community structure effectively campaigning against child abuse and teenage pregnancy.
- Empower and equip adolescent girls and young women to stay HIV-free while bridging treatment gaps and ensuring equitable access to treatment in underserved communities.
- Strengthen capacity of existing community structures (VHTs, CHEWs, local groups/CBOs to improve health service delivery at the community level
- Foster community monitoring of services to enhance accountability and ownership
- Strengthen surveillance, prevention, treatment and community engagement priority diseases like malaria, HIV and malnutrition.
- Strengthen evidence-based interventions through research for improved community health
