BMJ Global Health published the article, Promising practices for the collaborative planning of integrated health campaigns from a synthesis of case studies. It highlights 10 promising practices for the collaborative planning of integrated health campaigns related to stages of preplanning, planning and preparation that emerged from the experiences of eight project teams. The authors, representing HCE Coalition’s Program Office, project team leads in Nepal, India and Ethiopia, and members of the HCE Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee and Campaign Integration Working Group, conclude that adoption of the promising practices may lead to enhanced collaboration among campaign stakeholders, increased agreement about the need for and anticipated benefits of campaign integration, and enhanced understanding of effective planning of integrated health campaigns.
Summary
Global health organisations have called for increasing cross programme or intersectoral collaboration to promote health campaign effectiveness, efficiency and equity; however, little has been documented about the promising approaches for planning integrated health campaigns, especially those related to neglected tropical diseases, malaria, vitamin A supplementation and vaccine-preventable diseases.
Ten promising practices for the collaborative planning of integrated health campaigns were identified from a synthesis of eight case studies in six countries. In the campaign phase of preplanning, promising practices emerged related to coordinating bodies, securing broad participation at all levels, decision-making and pairing a campaign intervention with another familiar campaign. In the planning phase, promising practices emerged related to monitoring readiness, adopting digital tools, ensuring community acceptability and identifying missed populations. In the planning phase, promising practices were identified related to harmonising tools and setting up campaign workers for success.
Country-based campaign planners and implementers, government health programmes, campaign funders, global institutions and non-governmental organisations can put into action these promising practices and other approaches to work towards a strategic balance of health campaigns and ongoing services for delivery of lifesaving interventions, shifting away from exclusively vertical (disease-specific) campaign approaches towards those that promote synergies and optimise efficiency, effectiveness and equity across health programmes and other sectors through enhanced coordination and collaboration.