Kombolcha Medium Sexual Reproductive Health Clinic, which is one of the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia clinics’ under the North East Area Office, has implemented “Challenge the challenge” approach for SRH services. The COVID-19 pandemic makes hard to reach the health services specially, for SRH clients. The Medium Clinic has designed a new approach called “Challenge the Challenge” amidst COVID-19 to reach SRH clients. The FGAE supervision and supporting team led by Mr. Feleke Fanta, Executive Director of FGAE, had a visit in the North East Area Office. The clinic has presented its activities in the 2020 half year performance amidst of COVID-19 pandemic.
Some pictures of the Management Team during visit at Kombolcha SRH Medium Clinic
Mr. Assefa Tewhibo, head of the clinic, expressed that the clinic has designed a motto called “’Challenge the Challenge’ together with FGAE volunteers and staff by strengthening the local partnership”. Firstly, the clinic has mapped the most potential areas that need SRH services in Kombolcha Town. Then, the clinic identified 02, 03 and 05 kebele as a potential area to be addressed the SRH services. After that the clinic assigned demand creators to visit mapped area twice a day for house to house promotion on the SRH services that FGAE provides in collaboration with Health Extension Workers and other government health facilities. They also worked with delivery free committee to promoted ANC services during their visits. The Clinic SRH service user numbers increased every day. Secondly, the clinic has designed initiation of a phone call to remind the clients’ follow-up and appointment date. To do this, the providers are assigned to collect the lists of clients who had follow-up and appointments’ from the Log book. Then, the provider made ready their cards and if the clients were absent the provider made a phone call on the follow-up day. Moreover, the phone call continued for the next two days to remind the clients still they were absent. These indicated that the number of Sexual Reproductive Health Service has shown up increasing trend from time to time and contributes positively due to the implementation of the innovated approaches. In comparison to the 1st half year of 2019 family planning service user clients’, the 1st half year of 2020 surpasses family planning satisfied clients’ increments were recorded. In addition to these, the satisfied clients who got services sent new clients for SRH services.
Challenge the challenge innovative approach “Home to Home visit and telephone call appointment with staffs’ commitment as a coping mechanism to COVID-19 results in increasing SRH Service while expecting a reduction due to the pandemic.
Therefore, these innovative approaches should be maintained and scale up to all FGAE static facilities particularly, North East Area Office.
