PHE Quarterly Newsletter – May 2023
New activities are taking place within the PHE Network with the online meeting platforms. During the last three months, cross trainings on different topics are increasingly organised at the request of members.

The PHE Network closed the year 2022 with an exhibition of the achievements of the PHE approach.

Despite several delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we finally managed to complete our long awaited expansion of the area of coverage of the Population-Health-Environment (PHE) Network.

In mid-June, the DIANA region hosted the fourth regional Population-Health-Environment (PHE) showcase event. About twenty representatives from NGOs and public institutions participated.

The end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 were eventful. After two years of running online sessions with partners and members of the PHE network, in person meetings are now resuming at both the national and regional scale.

About thirty members of the PHE Centre Network, from Fianarantsoa and the Ifanadiana district, met in Ranomafana for the 2nd regional PHE event on agroforestry as a means to mitigate exploitation of natural resources and provide a stable income.

A document capturing the responses of Population-Health-Environment (PHE) partners to Covid-19 was presented on the 19th of May via Zoom to more than forty participants. Since April 2020, two national health emergencies have been declared in Madagascar as a direct response to the pandemic and restrictive measures have been implented to tackle rising cases.

The first quarter of 2021 will see a gradual resumption of the regional activities of the PHE Network. In mid-March, the SAVA region (North-East of Madagascar) hosted the first North-East regional coordination meeting, which was followed by the first regional PHE Day: two complementary events in which more than twenty NGOs/associations and regional directorates from the SAVA and Analanjirofo regions participated.

Focusing on intersectionality in a global health crisis has enabled us to rapidly reorganize and respond to the most pressing needs to help people, especially the most vulnerable, and to strengthen their resilience to the shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has confirmed the flexibility of our integrated approach that allows us to adapt to needs and priorities according to the context.

The PHE network and its members are resuming their activities in promoting a Population-Health-Environment (PHE) approach to support community-led biodiversity conservation and strengthen health services following the lifting of Madagascar’s COVID-19 health emergency.

As health and conservation organisations across Madagascar mobilise vulnerable rural communities to protect themselves and their livelihoods in the face of COVID-19, the PHE network launches a suite of resources and online support to advance agile, community-based, cross-sector responses to this unprecedented global pandemic.

Key results, implementation experiences and lessons learned were shared through presentations, exhibition stands, posters, discussion panels and community testimonies.

Growth of the PHE network continues apace! This roundup of our latest news includes our new staff and office, strengthened collaboration with key ministries, several productive coordination meetings and field updates from our members.

Meanwhile new thematic working groups are set to focus on policy engagement, community outreach materials and the organisation of a high-level showcase event. All this and more in our latest news roundup!

Twenty health and environmental organisations in Madagascar have signed the world’s very first Population-Health-Environment (PHE) quality charter.

In-depth training workshops and learning exchange visits in Ranomafana (centre) and Ifaty (southwest) brought together health and environmental organisations working in these regions to share knowledge and support uptake of the PHE approach.

The PHE network partnered with the Ministry of Public Health and K4Health to organise these training workshops. Plus a TEDx talk and Reuters article spotlight PHE initiatives in Madagascar! All this and more in our latest news roundup.

The network’s PHE partnerships guide and PHE story cards (an interactive community outreach tool) are now available to download.

JSI / Mahefa Miaraka will strengthen community-based health services in seven regions across the country and is open to collaboration with environmental organisations. Meanwhile the Wildlife Conservation Society and Blue Ventures report on their PHE partnerships in our latest news roundup.

Lemur Conservation Foundation helps Marie Stopes ladies to go the last mile to reach isolated forest communities. Meanwhile PHE network members cross coasts to share learning and implementation experiences. All this and more in our latest news roundup!