Islamabad:With persistent gaps in skills and training among frontline health workers limiting the reach and quality of public health services, the Health Services Academy (HSA) and Promoting National Cohesion (PNC) have agreed to work together on building technical and community-level capacities across Pakistan.
The two organisations formalised their collaboration through a memorandum of understanding signed at the Health Services Academy in Islamabad. The partnership sets out a framework for joint planning and implementation of public health initiatives, with a focus on capacity building of health workers, programme staff and community stakeholders.
The areas identified for collaboration include life skills-based education for health, reproductive health and rights, eye healthcare, immunisation, early childhood development and other community health interventions. The partnership also aims to strengthen institutional coordination, improve technical capacity and jointly pursue funding opportunities to support health programmes at scale.
HSA Vice Chancellor Dr Shahzad Ali Khan said the collaboration was expected to help bridge gaps between technical expertise and community outreach, particularly by strengthening communication, community mobilisation and social and behaviour change communication approaches to improve service uptake and health-seeking behaviours.
PNC Chief Executive Officer Ms Misha Mazhar said the organisation’s community networks would enable more direct engagement with local populations, including young people, to support implementation of health initiatives. She said PNC’s youth network could contribute to outreach and mobilisation efforts in hard-to-reach communities.
Under the agreement, HSA will provide technical support and guidance to PNC in the design and implementation of health projects, including those related to reproductive health, early childhood development, eye care and community health worker training. The academy will also support capacity-building initiatives, assist with documentation and coordination with relevant stakeholders, and provide technical input in programme design and quality assurance.
PNC will implement health programmes in coordination with HSA and share periodic progress updates. The organisation will also support adaptation of life skills-based education for health to equip young people with practical skills related to physical, sexual and reproductive health, and will share lessons learnt and programme models from its previous work in health programming. Both organisations have committed to ensuring compliance with applicable laws, regulations and donor requirements.
Representatives of development partners, government institutions, health professionals, PNC board members, media and officials of the Health Services Academy attended the signing ceremony.
Health Services Academy is a public sector institution under the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, providing training and research in public health. Promoting National Cohesion is a women-led, not-for-profit organisation working on community engagement and social development initiatives.
