All eyes are on Switzerland as several decisions will be made at the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA77) in favor of “health for all.” This ambition is one that Cerrhud is committed to with its partners through the Memisa component of the Health for All (H4A) program.
The 77th World Health Assembly includes participants from the Center for Research in Human Reproduction and Demography (Cerrhud). “After 2023, we are once again in Geneva; this event represents a unique platform for us to establish and strengthen partnerships. We look forward to collaborating with key actors to amplify the impact of our work and explore new avenues for research and development,” says Fulbert Adjimèhossou, Cerrhud’s communications officer.
As the supreme decision-making body of the World Health Organization, the Health Assembly meets annually to set WHO policies. Delegations from the 194 Member States participate. WHA77 will be held from May 27 to June 1, 2024, under the theme: « A World Mobilized for Health, Health for All. »
According to Fulbert, Cerrhud’s participation demonstrates the Center’s ongoing commitment to promoting equitable and accessible health for all. “We firmly believe that research and innovation are essential to achieving sustainable development goals and improving quality of life globally. And it’s an opportunity to discuss this with other key players who share this vision. We began doing this by participating in a civil society meeting this Saturday at the Médecins sans Frontières headquarters, in preparation for WHA77,” he adds.
Memisa: H4A Aligned with WHA77
Nearly all research and intervention projects implemented by Cerrhud aim to ensure access to health for all. This includes the Health for All (H4A) project, a multipartite initiative that brings together several organizations in Benin and Belgium to improve healthcare in Benin. The goal is to enhance the use of quality maternal and neonatal health services in the Borgou department, particularly in two areas (Parakou-N’Dali and Tchaourou) and in the municipalities of Porto-Novo and Abomey-Calavi.
The Memisa component is planned and implemented by the Belgian NGO Memisa and its local partners AMCES (Association of Private Medical, Religious, and Social Works in Benin), ABPF (Benin Association for Family Promotion), PNUSS (National Platform for Health Service Users), and Cerrhud. Cerrhud’s role in this project is to foster collaboration among the four partners and facilitate learning for the continuous improvement of the program. The approach adopted for this is action research and learning within the partner structures.
In 2023, the implementation of the Memisa component saw significant progress. Cerrhud finalized the situational analysis, started in 2022, followed by a co-creation workshop. This resulted in an action research plan aimed at improving the quality and accessibility of care in the supported health facilities and health zones.
This plan has helped identify key learning questions that will support the continuous improvement of the H4A program and the continuous improvement of the quality and accessibility of care in the supported areas. “The results of the collaborative approach were presented at the 13th Planetary Health Conference in Utrecht, the Netherlands. And just like last year, we remind this World Health Assembly WHA77 of the benefits of this project for health for all, as desired by WHO.