Findings on Mid Term Evaluation of Cameroon Clubfoot Care Project Presented to Clubfoot Management Committee
In order to assess the level of implementation of the third Phase of the Cameroon Clubfoot Care project, Health Promotion Organization (HePrOrg) was contracted to carry out a mid-term evaluation to assess the progress of activities’ implementation to determine the level of participation of stakeholders and identify areas that require improvement to step up project effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability.
After the evaluation, a Clubfoot management meeting was organized in Yaoundé by the Ministry of Public Health of Cameroon (MOH) in collaboration with the Cameroon Clubfoot Care Project (CCCP) for key stakeholders to deliberate on the findings from the evaluation and to make suggestions that will improve the quality of the project implementation.
Chaired by the Sub-Director for the fight against Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases at the MoH, Dr Georges Nko’oAyissi, the meeting brought together staff from the Cameroon Clubfoot Care Project, Ministry of Public Health, CBM, CBC Health Services, Clubfoot clinics, and the midterm evaluators from HePrOrg.
At the start of the meeting, Dr Georges Nko’oAyissi welcomed participants and appreciated the tripartite efforts of the MOH, CBM, and CBCHS in bringing the CCCP project to its mid-phase. He also encouraged the prompt implementation of recommendations as per the findings of the mid-term evaluation.
Presenting the results of the evaluation according to the result areas of the project, the lead evaluator from HePrOrg, Dr. Eveline Khan remarked that there was an in-depth evaluation of the project from the inputs, processes, and outcomes. She appraised the participation of stakeholders at the central level but regretted the limited participation of stakeholders at the regional, district, and clinic levels. She encouraged the intentional involvement of key stakeholders at these levels in the implementation of project activities, reporting, and providing feedback on a regional basis.
For demand generation, Dr. Eveline Khan noted adequate sensitization on clubfoot at the clinic level but highlighted that there was limited awareness on the media which needs to be improved by using all communications channels. Discussions also focused on capacity to staff where the evaluator disclosed that findings show that all 17 clubfoot clinics are functional but most of the children who received treatment were above 2 years old thus more health workers should be provided the capacity to identify and refer children with clubfoot and follow up to enable them access treatment.
With a picture of the project painted, recommendations have been made and documented and the chair of the meeting implored the Cameroon Clubfoot Care Project and MoH to work effortlessly in order to ensure that the suggestions are implemented to improve the quality of project activities.
On the heels of the management meeting, was a 2-day training of teachers of physiotherapy schools, which took place in Yaoundé with the objective to build the capacity of teachers of physiotherapy training schools on clubfoot management using the Ponseti technique.
The workshop which brought together 26 teachers from 14 physiotherapy schools under the MOH was organized by the Human Resource Department of the MoH in collaboration with the Cameroon Clubfoot Care Project. The workshop also saw the presence of the Sub-Director for Training at the Human Resource Department of the MoH, the CBM Country Director, Director of CBC Health Services, cadre at the Human Resource Department MoH, and clubfoot focal person at MoH who encouraged participants to acquire new knowledge needed in the classroom to produce excellent physiotherapists that will be masters of the Ponseti technique in managing clubfoot.