Kicking off the New Year together
The hands4health partners started 2023 with a general online gathering to:
- Share updates on their activities, with a view of coordinating the roll-out of the second phase (specifically field activities in 2023);
- Reflect on the first two years of work, discussing challenges and potential solutions together.
The meeting was held in a bilingual setup, with presentations and discussion sessions in English and French and simultaneous translation into both languages. Differently from the last meetings, this time the partners prepared and presented their updates jointly per country. This was a great exercise – it strengthened the coordination and communication amongst partners and enabled the joint revision of the project timelines per country.
The intervention phase begins now, with the start of the baseline data collection in the countries. With less than 2 years until the end of the project, the teams are committed to keeping the activity timelines. The strong safety and security issues in all four countries pose additional challenges to the implementation phase. The partners will continue to proactively monitor and manage these risks, keeping in mind that the personal safety of the local project teams is of utmost importance.
Our next in-person meeting is already being planned, and will likely take place in August or September this year. It will give partners a chance to discuss the progress and challenges of the project activities, reflect on the implementation phase and plan the next steps. It will also provide a space for bilateral meetings in which the teams can discuss relevant issues more in depth.