The Geneva Learning Foundation

“If health workers do not share their challenges and solutions, we are bound to fail.”

Most significant learning that contributes to improved performance takes place outside of formal training.

It occurs through informal and incidental forms of learning between peers.

Effective use of peer learning requires realizing how much we can learn from each other (peer learning), experiencing the power of defying distance to solve problems together (remote learning), and feeling a growing sense of belonging to a community (social learning), emergent across country borders and health system levels (networked learning).

At the ASTMH annual meeting Symposium organized by Julie Jacobson, two TGLF Alumnae, María Monzón from Argentina and Ruth Allotey from Ghana, will be sharing their analyses and reflections of how they turned peer learning into action, results, and impact.

In his presentation, Reda Sadki, president of The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF), will explore:

1. What do we need to understand about digital learning?

2. Networked learning: rethinking learning architecture in the Digital Age

3. Social learning: peer learning is about making human connections

4. Practical examples of TGLF peer learning systems for WHO, Wellcome, UNICEF, and Bridges to Development that connect learning to change, results, and impact.

6. Emergent peer learning systems driven by local practitioner and community needs and priorities.

Join this #TropMed23 Peer Learning symposium on Day 2 of the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).

#GlobalHealth #PeerLearning #SocialLearning #NetworkedLearning

Some background reading…

Pandemic preparedness through connected transnational digital networks of local actors

https://redasadki.me/2022/10/13/epidemic-preparedness-through-connected-transnational-digital-networks-of-local-actors/

Reinventing the path from knowledge to action in global health

https://redasadki.me/2022/10/12/reinventing-the-path-from-knowledge-to-action-in-global-health/

Metaphors of global health: jazz improvisation ensemble or classical orchestra?

https://redasadki.me/2023/04/06/metaphors-of-global-health-jazz-improvisation-ensemble-or-classical-orchestra/

Credible knowers

https://redasadki.me/2023/03/21/credible-knowers/

What is a “rubric” and why use rubrics in global health education?

https://redasadki.me/2022/10/16/what-is-a-rubric-and-why-use-them-in-global-health-education/

Which is better for global health: online, blended, or face-to-face learning?

https://redasadki.me/2022/09/29/which-is-better-for-global-health-online-blended-or-face-to-face-learning/

Request your invitation to join Teach to Reach

https://www.learning.foundation/teachtoreach

Here’s a summary of the Teach to Reach 9 plenary sessions:

1. Opening ceremony: The Women Who Deliver Vaccines collective will open the event. Share experience around HPV vaccination successes, challenges and lessons learned.

Every year, around 600,000 women and 70,000 men are diagnosed with HPV-related cancers, resulting in 340,000 deaths.

Many countries are launching or relaunching vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV).

Learn more about Women Who Deliver Vaccines

https://www.learning.foundation/iwd

This Ceremony builds on sharing at Teach to Reach 8. You are invited to view previous sessions on our YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/c/TheGenevaLearningFoundation?sub_confirmation=1

Teach to Reach 8: Why HPV matters for women who deliver vaccines

https://youtu.be/mDB1vnT6ajc

2. Main Plenary: Impact of the Movement for Immunization Agenda 2030. Responding to measles outbreaks. Presentation of version 2.0 of the Manifesto for Health.

This Main Plenary builds on the sharing begun at Teach to Reach 8.

Teach to Reach 8: Leaders share their journey from ideas to impact

https://youtu.be/Sq97xPR4lps

Teach to Reach 8: View the Manifesto version 1.0 presentation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET4StT9vhZY

3. Plenary with UNICEF: Sharing experiences to identify and reach “zero-dose” children and under-vaccinated communities in urban areas.

We are delighted to announce that UNICEF and The Geneva Learning Foundation are once again joining forces to support Teach to Reach 9.

This edition of Teach to Reach is not limited to vaccination.

4. Neglected Women’s Health Needs: Testimonies from Health Professionals Fighting Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS).

In this plenary session, find out how healthcare professionals, working together as a network, are taking action against FGS, a neglected tropical disease that affects around 56 million women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa.

Learn more about Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS)

https://www.learning.foundation/fgs

Teach to Reach 6 session on neglected needs of women’s health

https://youtube.com/live/zEl2wZ4n9B4

5. From community to planet: healthcare professionals share their experiences of the effects of climate change on the health of populations.

Request access to the Special Event “From community to planet: Health professionals on the frontlines of climate change”.

https://www.learning.foundation/climate

As a reminder, here is the information you will need to access Teach to Reach on Friday:

Participant’s guide to choose the sessions you will attend.

https://learningsi.notion.site/Participant-s-Guide-for-Teach-to-Reach-Connect-8-bcd6bea5bb5b481fbb2f2d8b17baf5b7?pvs=4

If you are unable to join Hopin, you can participate in our Zoom studio using this link.

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uyN5jJy1Ta-kGrg_pqrZuA

How does Teach to Reach work?

Before the Opening Ceremony, join us to learn about Teach to Reach (if it's your first time) and to meet up with the first attendees to arrive to interact in the plenary room. We'll answer any questions you have about the event and help you get the most out of the various sessions.

View the Teach to Reach 9 Participant’s guide

https://www.notion.so/Participant-s-Guide-for-Teach-to-Reach-9-812ccd5e8e70416e8b142539e95bfb50?pvs=4

Tutorial: how does Teach to Reach work?

Is this your first time at Teach to Reach? Join us for a hands-on, step-by-step tutorial that will help you understand how to identify the sessions you’re interested in, how to navigate the event’s platform, and - most importantly - how to network with colleagues from around the world.

As a reminder, here is the information you will need to access Teach to Reach on Friday:

1. Register now for Teach to Reach networking and sessions: https://registration.hopin.com/widgets/registration/teachtoreach

2. Upon successful registration, you will receive an email containing the “magic link” you will use to access Hopin, the platform where Teach to Reach will take place.

3. Review the Participant’s guide to choose the sessions you will attend.

https://learningsi.notion.site/Participant-s-Guide-for-Teach-to-Reach-Connect-8-bcd6bea5bb5b481fbb2f2d8b17baf5b7?pvs=4

If you are unable to join Hopin, you can participate in our Zoom studio using this link.

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uyN5jJy1Ta-kGrg_pqrZuA

D-7 Teach to Reach 9: Get ready to learn about measles outbreaks, HPV vaccination, climate change, and neglected needs of women’s health

7 days before the world’s largest networked learning event for health professionals, find out what’s on at Teach to Reach 9.

Request your invitation https://www.learning.foundation/teachtoreach

With 7 days to go until October 13, 2023, meet health leaders who will be at Teach to Reach: Connect 9 and discover what we are learning ahead of the event, on questions such as:

- How to respond to measles outbreaks?

- How to successfully vaccinate against HPV (human papillomavirus)?

- How to identify and reach zero-dose children in urban and peri-urban areas (with UNICEF)

This edition of Teach to Reach isn’t just about vaccination. Find out how health professionals:

- dealing with the health effects of climate change

- take action against Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS), a neglected tropical disease that affects around 56 million women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Learning happens best when people seek answers to their specific daily challenges. Teach to Reach is proof that immunization professionals are hungry to learn, and hungry to share.”–Dr Kate O’Brien and Ephrem T Lemango

Since January 2021, successive editions of Teach to Reach have connected 64,705 participants in one-to-one networking sessions and group sessions to share experience.

As we work towards achieving the Immunization Agenda 2030 goals, it is crucial to support and empower health professionals at the local level.

For health professionals, Teach to Reach offers a unique opportunity to:

1. Share experience with colleagues from all over the world

2. Get help with your toughest challenge

3. Get fresh ideas to help you succeed

“Uniquely, the Geneva Learning Foundation’s platform and its Teach to Reach events provide a way to link [health professionals] together, so that they can share experiences about what works and equally important, what doesn’t work, while learning from each other.” – Ephrem T Lemango, Associate Director of Immunization, UNICEF

For global partners, Teach to Reach: Connect is an opportunity to:

1. connect with a large community, platform, and network of health professionals working on the frontlines, especially in LMICs;

2. listen to healthcare workers’ perspectives and responses to local challenges;

3. engage in meaningful dialogue with people who deliver vaccines on issues that matter most to them; and

4. support women and men on the frontline of service planning and delivery.

“While we can provide tools and guidance, we need to do more to empower immunization professionals to identify and solve their own problems, wherever they are working, and whatever those problems are.” – Dr Kate O’Brien, Director of the Department for Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals (IVB), World Health Organization (WHO)

What can we learn from Teach to Reach: Connect?

Follow this link to discover remarkable new insights shared by 14,134 frontline immunization professionals in 89 countries at the last Teach to Reach: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7766585

Read the preface by Dr Kate O’Brien, Director of the Department for Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals (IVB), World Health Organization (WHO) and Ephrem T. Lemango, Associate Director of Immunization at UNICEF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-can-we-learn-from-14134-frontline-health

Learn more about peer learning at scale

https://redasadki.me/2023/09/01/teach-to-reach-peer-learning-at-scale/

Find more learning from Teach to Reach

Get insights and data from the Teach to Reach open access repository

https://zenodo.org/communities/teachtoreach/?page=1&size=20

View previous Teach to Reach sessions

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLti7k0eaN3gQM1Vnie2tjar6rih9FqTfk

Poor connectivity? Get the Teach to Reach podcast https://www.learning.foundation/podcast

Teach to Reach is supported by The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) and partners

What is the Geneva Learning Foundation?

One-page answer https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7316466

Full brochure: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7057015

Watch the second Gavi Zero-Dose Learning Hub (ZDLH) inter-country peer learning exchange, known as “ZDLH-X”.

Learn more about the ZDLH https://zdlh.gavi.org

Learn more about ZDLH-X https://learningsi.notion.site/ZDLH-X-Participant-s-guide-c08967dc27f24d049cceffa0f283560d?pvs=4

Topic 1: Integration - Maximizing opportunities to reach zero-dose children and missed communities

Topic 2: Microplanning – planning, implementing, revising as a continuous Process

This event is one step in an ongoing peer learning initiative to mobilize the power of peer, networked learning:

- Connect zero-dose practitioners to learn from each other

- Invite global, regional, and country partners to listen, learn, and contribute

Zero-dose practitioners from two countries, Nigeria and Uganda, are featured in this second session recorded on 13 September 2023.

Over 2,200 immunization staff registered from 90 countries to share experience of zero-dose. 84% of them work directly on zero-dose. 59% are sub-national staff.

What do we mean by “zero-dose”?

Zero-dose, un-vaccinated/un-immunized, left-outs

- General definition: communities, clusters, populations, or children who are persistently missed by immunization services

- Gavi definition: children who don’t receive a single dose of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis-containing vaccine

But…problems related to zero-dose are connected to problems of the

under-vaccinated/under-immunized, the drop-outs, and the partially vaccinated…and the communities where they live.

- In some places, there are more under-immunized than zero-dose children.

- So, for today’s discussion, we are talking about ALL OF THE ABOVE.

How to share your zero-dose experience?

1. What is the zero-dose situation where you work? How do you know?

2. What are you doing about it, why, and how?

3. How is it different from what you did before?

4. How has it turned out so far?

5. How do you know what you are doing is successful?

Uganda - Topic 1: Integration

- Scovia Okello: ANC Data for Birth & Vaccination Follow-up

- Akello Rebecca: Community Outreach for Service Integration

Nigeria - Topic 1: Integration

- Abubakar Muhammad Amali: Service Integration to Reduce Missed Vaccination Opportunities

- Magaji Adamu: Utilizing Missed Opportunities for Vaccination

- Nneka Onwu: Finding and Vaccinating ZDCs during MNCH Weeks

- Dr. Adamu Umar Haruna: Peer Education in Conflict Zones

Nigeria - Topic 2: Microplanning

- Aminu Yahaya: Community-Centered Microplanning

- Halima Buba: Community Engagement via Women's Collectives

- Dr. Ahmad Tijjani Habibu: Microplanning for ZDCs and Missed Communities

Uganda - Topic 2: Microplanning

- Edwin Mbusa: Community Involvement in Microplanning

- Muhangi Ambrose: Outreach Redesign & Mobilizer Linkage

Acknowledgements

Nigeria

Dr Faisal Shuaib,

Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA)

Dr. Bassey Okpossen, Director, Disease Control and Immunization Coordinator, National Emergency RI Coordination Centre (NERRIC)

Uganda

Dr. Henry Mwebesa,

Director General Health Services, Ministry of Health

Dr. Michael Baganizi,

UNEPI Manager, Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunization

Guides on the side

- TGLF Alumna Boma Otobo, Former Deputy Programme Manager, NERICC

- TGLF Alumna Dr. Rita Atugonza, Deputy Program Manager, Uganda MoH

- Jenny SequeiraSenior Immunization Advisor

- Dr François Gasse, Senior Immunization Advisor

Gavi Country Learning Hub partners

- Bangladesh: RedOrange, ICDDR,b, JHPIEGO

- Mali: GaneshAID, CAPEV

- Nigeria: AFENET

- Uganda: IDRC, PATH, Makerere University School of Public Health

The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) wishes to thank Gavi and JSI for their leadership of the Gavi Zero Dose Learning Hub (ZDLH).

Teach to Reach: Connect is the world’s largest networking event for health professionals.

Request your invitation https://www.learning.foundation/teachtoreach

In today’s sneak preview, with 28 days remaining until 13 October 2023, discover the key topics and partners for Teach to Reach: Connect 9.

“Learning happens best when people seek answers to their specific daily challenges. Teach to Reach is proof that immunization professionals are hungry to learn, and hungry to share.” – Dr Kate O’Brien and Ephrem T Lemango

Since January 2021, successive editions of Teach to Reach have connected 64,705 participants in one-to-one networking sessions and group sessions to share experience.

As we work towards achieving the Immunization Agenda 2030 goals, it is crucial to support and empower health professionals at the local level.

For health professionals, Teach to Reach offers a unique opportunity to:

1. Share experience with colleagues from all over the world

2. Get help with your toughest challenge

3. Get fresh ideas to help you succeed

“Uniquely, the Geneva Learning Foundation’s platform and its Teach to Reach events provide a way to link [health professionals] together, so that they can share experiences about what works and equally important, what doesn’t work, while learning from each other.” – Ephrem T Lemango, Associate Director of Immunization, UNICEF

For global partners, Teach to Reach: Connect is an opportunity to:

1. connect with a large community, platform, and network of health professionals working on the frontlines, especially in LMICs;

2. listen to healthcare workers’ perspectives and responses to local challenges;

3. engage in meaningful dialogue with people who deliver vaccines on issues that matter most to them; and

4. support women and men on the frontline of service planning and delivery.

“While we can provide tools and guidance, we need to do more to empower immunization professionals to identify and solve their own problems, wherever they are working, and whatever those problems are.” – Dr Kate O’Brien, Director of the Department for Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals (IVB), World Health Organization (WHO)

What can we learn from Teach to Reach: Connect?

Follow this link to discover remarkable new insights shared by 14,134 frontline immunization professionals in 89 countries at the last Teach to Reach: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7766585

Read the preface by Dr Kate O’Brien, Director of the Department for Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals (IVB), World Health Organization (WHO) and Ephrem T. Lemango, Associate Director of Immunization at UNICEF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-can-we-learn-from-14134-frontline-health

Learn more about peer learning at scale

https://redasadki.me/2023/09/01/teach-to-reach-peer-learning-at-scale/

Find more learning from Teach to Reach

Get insights and data from the Teach to Reach open access repository

https://zenodo.org/communities/teachtoreach/?page=1&size=20

View previous Teach to Reach sessions

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLti7k0eaN3gQM1Vnie2tjar6rih9FqTfk

Poor connectivity? Get the Teach to Reach podcast https://www.learning.foundation/podcast

Teach to Reach is supported by The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) and partners

What is the Geneva Learning Foundation?

One-page answer https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7316466

Full brochure: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7057015

ZDLH Insights Live is a rapid, fast-paced discussion of what we learned from the zero-dose experiences of Bangladesh and Mali in the first ZDLH-X 1 inter-country peer learning event on 31 May 2023, organized by the Gavi Zero-Dose Learning Hub (ZDLH) and facilitated by The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF).

We will share highlights and key learning points, and invite participating zero-dose practitioners from Bangladesh, Mali, and other countries to reflect on what they learned from the inaugural May 2023 exchange.

Watch the ZDLH-X 1 inter-country peer learning event

English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgQfHwRTc6U

En français: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEfpzZW8ipU

What is ZDLH-X and why does it matter?

The ZDLH-X 1 event held on 31 May 2023 by the Gavi Zero-Dose Learning Hub (ZDLH) was a breakthrough online peer learning exchange focused on sharing experiences and insights related to identifying and reaching zero-dose children and missed communities.

The event was organized by Gavi’s Zero-Dose Learning Hub (ZDLH) initiative using The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF)’s innovative peer learning methodologies. It brought together nearly 2000 immunization practitioners from 84 countries, with a focus on Bangladesh and Mali.

What can we learn from ZDLH-X?

It provided a unique opportunity for frontline health workers and immunization staff at sub-national levels to directly share their challenges, successes, and innovations related to addressing zero-dose issues.

Participants could contribute before, during and after the event - sharing experiences, learning from peers, and reflecting on how to apply insights in their own context.

What is different about ZDLH-X?

The interactive format encouraged direct exchanges between peers rather than passive learning, which is more impactful based on learning science. Facilitators and experts played a supporting role.

Over 600 experiences and insights were shared related to identifying hard-to-reach populations, community engagement, service delivery strategies, dealing with conflict, vaccine hesitancy and more.

84% of participants from Bangladesh and Mali said the event changed them as a professional and 69% said it helped their practice.

Key innovations that made it a breakthrough:

- Leveraging digital platforms to connect a community of practitioners across hierarchy, geographies and languages.

- Fostering peer-to-peer exchange as co-learners focused on a shared goal.

- Building on experiences before and after the live event as part of a learning continuum.

- Primarily sub-national participants sharing field innovations rarely heard at international events.

- Facilitating local networking and empowering practitioners to lead change.

Ceremony to welcome the first Alumni Ambassadors of The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) from Bangladesh, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda

We are thrilled to announce the induction ceremony for the first Alumni Ambassadors of The Geneva Learning Foundation for Bangladesh, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda.

Ambassadors are Alumni selected by The Geneva Learning Foundation on the basis of their diligence and commitment in support of the Foundation’s mission of education as a philosophy for change.

The core of TGLF’s philosophy is that education is a powerful philosophy for change.

You are invited to join us to meet the new Ambassadors and hear first-hand about how they are making a difference.

This is a landmark event in our continuous journey towards leveraging education as a catalyst for transformative change.

The newly-appointed ambassadors will be entrusted with:

1. Extending invitations to TGLF’s myriad activities and projects.

Presenting and elucidating the core values, purpose, and advantages of TGLF, its activities, and its undertakings to fellow health professionals and partners.

2. Ensuring the active engagement of national teams, partners, and other country stakeholders in TGLF’s education and change programmes.

3. Ambassadors will uphold the highest standards of behavior and integrity, always acting in the best interest of the Foundation.

Their initial appointment is followed by a formal confirmation for a period of two years.

For additional information and the list of TGLF Ambassadors, interested parties can visit: https://www.learning.foundation/ambassadors

Learn more about The Geneva Learning Foundation https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7316466

Climate and health: An introduction to citizen science

Learn more: https://www.learning.foundation/climate

Health professionals concerned about climate and health are invited to this follow-up session presented by leading advocates of citizen science. Following the climate and health special event, this session aims to better understand and explore how observations of climate and change made by health professionals and communities contribute to the science of climate and health.

The session is intended for any health professional, from community health workers to public health specialists, seeking to enhance their roles as pivotal actors in understanding and combating the effects of climate change on health.

During this session, we will introduce and unpack the Citizen Science methodology—a model that synergizes the effort of academic researchers with citizen scientists, resulting in solutions that make real, tangible differences. Grounded in the experience of PROCOL Lebanon and the RELIEF Centre, we will explore how Citizen Science can enhance data collection, analysis, and the design and implementation of interventions for improved community health.

Our goal is not only to inspire projects to employ the Citizen Science methodology but also to cultivate a deeper understanding of how health professionals can leverage this approach to enrich their work and their impact on the communities they serve. With Citizen Science, we can go beyond observations and translate our collective knowledge into meaningful, contextually sensitive interventions.

By participating in this session, you will become a part of a dynamic global dialogue shaping the strategies to combat climate change’s impact on health. Your contribution will help lay the path to a healthier, more resilient future.

Are you a health professional concerned about the effects of climate change on the health of the community you serve?

Learn more and request your invitation https://www.learning.foundation/climate

This special event is for frontline health professionals who are concerned about the effects of climate on communities. You do not need any special expertise in climate science to participate or to share your observations.

Whether we are a community health worker, nurse, doctor, midwife, pharmacist, public health specialist, or any other health practitioner, our firsthand experience and observations can help better understand the relationship between climate and health.

Country, region, and global climate and/or health partners are invited to listen and learn.

This Special Event is supported by The Geneva Learning Foundation and Bridges to Development.