Community Resource Centres: Fighting Poverty Through Healthcare, Education and Economic Development

The Global Telehealth Network (GTN) and its partners are collaborating to develop telehealth systems in multiple countries where there are large medically underserved populations. Pilot programs are currently launching at eleven sites in Kenya and Uganda.

However, improving healthcare will have only limited impact if families live in entrenched poverty, and if their children are severely malnourished and drinking dirty water. We must recognize the need to address the “social determinants of health” as well as the economic, nutritional and environmental determinants of health to maximize the impact of interventions.  

Only through systems change can we build a future in which communities and individuals can flourish.

THE COLLABORATIVE

When communities assess their resources, needs and wishes, they usually identify a number of critical needs, but it is very difficult for one organization or one grant project to address all of them. That is why GTN and IEEE Smart Village (ISV) are building a coalition of multiple non-governmental organizations (NGO), for-profit social enterprises, government agencies and Rotary Clubs, each with specific areas of expertise and a history of acquiring funding to support their projects and programs.

This collaborative can offer a "menu" of possibilities to assist communities in meeting their needs through “Community Resource Centres” (CRC).

For example, GTN can help develop local clinics and assist existing health centres with telehealth support. IEEE Smart Village provides seed funding and mentoring for entrepreneurs, including those who can design and install solar power systems and ensure broadband Internet access. Other organizations specialize in developing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programs. Still others offer training and support in Climate-Smart Agriculture for smallholder women farmers, community gardens for those who have no farmable land of their own, and other programs addressing economic development, entrepreneurship and the profound consequences of climate change.

Additional possibilities for programs include libraries and computer labs that can offer free Internet access, adult education programs, vocational training, entrepreneurship training, women's cooperatives for business and agriculture, cold storage facilities, industrial kitchens, food processing and packaging facilities, community stores and gift shops, and access to international markets.

THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Of course, the planning for each Community Resource Centre begins with a community needs assessment, and it is critically important that the assessment be done by the community itself. One of our collaborating organizations, the Movement for Community-led Development (MCLD), is devoted to assisting communities in taking charge of their own development efforts. To optimize that process, MCLD offers two-day workshops on leadership development and provides the tools for high-quality community-led needs assessments.

In addition to GTN, ISV and MCLD, the collaborative includes multiple other organizations, including the Foundation for Building Sustainable Communities (FBSC), Oliveseed Foundation, and Child Health & AIDS Prevention (CHAP).

Participating Rotary Clubs include the Rotary Club of Los Altos (California), Rotary Club of Milimani (Nairobi) in Kenya, Rotary Clubs of Kololo-Kampala, Mengo and Bwebajja in Uganda and Rotary E-Club of Silicon Valley Smart Village (International).

SCALING THE MOVEMENT

Recent meetings with government officials in Kenya and Uganda have revealed remarkably high levels of interest in developing Community Resource Centres as cost-effective solutions to the abrupt loss of foreign aid that had previously supported healthcare, education and economic development.

In Kenya, a country with a devolved (i.e., decentralized) system of government, GTN is finalizing Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) for collaboration with the governments of Vihiga County, Makueni County, Kisumu County and several other counties to advance these initiatives. GTN is also continuing support for creation of the Nambale Community Resource Centre in Busia County. Meanwhile, GTN and Kenya’s Ministry of Health are finalizing an agreement framework that will see GTN and the National Government of Kenya collaborate to deliver universal healthcare to millions of Kenyans in rural areas through our telehealth system, while encouraging counties to develop Community Resource Centres.

In Uganda, GTN is developing a similar MoU with the Kingdom of Buganda for collaboration in development of telehealth services and Community Resource Centres throughout the 18 counties for which the Kingdom is responsible for healthcare, education and economic development.

The movement is growing rapidly, and our goal is to scale the Community Resource Centre program extensively throughout Kenya and Uganda as well as to many other countries, in each case customizing the design to fit the community’s resources and critical needs while addressing most of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals to eliminate poverty.