Community Impact Programme: The Second Group
The second CIP group took place between September and December 2024. Participants partook in five online workshops and a face-to-face session as part of the Conference on Liver Disease in Africa (COLDA) in Cairo, Egypt, on the week of 16th of September.
The programme was a resounding success and concluded with the development and presentation of fully formed advocacy project plans, providing participants with both theoretical knowledge and practical experience to effect meaningful change. By fostering a network of empowered advocates, the program ensured a collective effort toward the shared goal of eliminating hepatitis.
“The program was a transformative experience that blended practical skills with a deeper understanding of advocacy. The program management lessons tied everything together, from stakeholder engagement to storytelling. It helped me create impactful and sustainable advocacy efforts”
“The virtual format exceeded my expectations. The sessions were well-structured, with clear objectives and interactive discussions.”
“I learnt how to convey my message and requests clearly, concisely, and compellingly. I can now capture the attention of stakeholders and drive sustainable programs to eradicate viral hepatitis.”
Impact in action
Case study: Lucy Matumbu
Lucy Matumbu is an advocate for people who use drugs (PWUDs) in rural South Africa. Working at TB HIV care, Lucy advocates for PWUDs and sex workers to access outreach programmes in the rural Mpumalanga province. In September 2024 Lucy joined the second cohort of the Community Impact Accelerator Programme. Lucy felt that joining the accelerator programme would be “a great platform to expand my knowledge and skills in implementing community led programmes in harm reduction. I hope to learn from experts in the field and derive information to further enhance my skills, enabling me to effectively implement programmes for my community”
As a part of the programme, Lucy was supported to attend the Conference on Liver Disease in Africa 2024 (COLDA). COLDA was a pivotal moment for Lucy “It was my first time attending such a conference that focused on Liver diseases in such a first-class calibre, and there I gained a lot of insight and knowledge from experts, researchers and peers in the field and the abstracts that were presented impacted my understanding.”
At COLDA, Lucy was a speaker in the session ‘What could we do differently to achieve elimination’ and took part in an in-person advocacy workshop with the CIP trainer and her fellow participants. In this session, the participants were introduced to advanced advocacy techniques, defined advocacy goals, and mapped stakeholders. Participants began drafting their advocacy project goals and learned to set evaluation metrics to measure success. After the session, Lucy reported that “Meeting other advocates and participating in COLDA was a transformative experience that has significantly influenced my work. Sharing experiences, challenges and successes helped build a sense of community and solidarity. COLDA rekindled my passion for advocacy.”
Attending COLDA also opened networking opportunities, allowing Lucy to meet with the wider community, and make connections with potential donors. “I met researchers from South Africa whom I didn’t know and have shared my work with some of them, we still keep in touch and I’m sure that very soon we will be able to collaborate with them on future project relating to Hepatitis for PWUDs.
Since completing the programme, Lucy has used her learnings to draft a successful funding programme for a community project. “I wrote the proposal using everything I learned at the CIP programme and within three weeks, I got donations for needle and syringe packages, 50 dignity packs, and refreshments for our December event. I managed to get seedlings for land that was donated to one of our organisations in Mpumalanga, which we will use to help empower our peers through job creation and skill development. All this has been possible because of lessons I learned from CIP”. Lucy also noted “By collaborating with other activists, I have learned a lot about hepatitis and how it affects our communities and I have used that to inform them that hepatitis is not a curse but a disease that affects a lot of people even those that don’t use drugs. In that way they have been open about understanding the disease and are not afraid to ask for help because before they were shy about opening up for fear of the stigma associated with hepatitis.”
Despite the course coming to its conclusion, the lessons learnt will continue long into the future “My confidence level has tripled because I have been equipped with the necessary skills to excel in my advocacy work, this has been possible because of the CIP Accelerator Programme. I would recommend it to anyone who is passionate about advocating for the marginalized population, community work and putting people’s health needs at the forefront of any medical intervention. This opportunity is treasured, and I take it as an achievement for myself and my community of PWUDs.
Case study: Prince Okinedo
Prince Okinedo is the founder and team lead at Hepatitis Advocacy Foundation (HAF), an NGO raising public awareness on viral hepatitis in Delta State, Nigeria. HAF helps people living with chronic hepatitis B to lead a fulfilling life, providing psycho-social support and access to medication. Prince advocates for hepatitis elimination, “My mission is simple: raising public awareness on viral hepatitis B, advocating for improved funding for hepatitis B care services from governments and other stakeholders, and improving the lives of people living with the virus through knowledge empowerment and linkage to patient-centred care.”
In September 2024 Prince joined the second cohort of the Community Impact Accelerator Programme (CIP) “My main reason for applying to CIP was to hone my skills in advocacy for better outcomes. As a patient advocate, this appeals to me because it will afford me the opportunity to learn from global experts’ best practices, especially on government/policy makers advocacy.” As a part of the programme, Prince was supported to attend the Conference on Liver Disease in Africa 2024 (COLDA) “I am grateful for the opportunity to have participated in COLDA in Cairo, Egypt. This experience has significantly enhanced my capacity as a viral hepatitis patient advocate in my home state and it was particularly memorable for me, as it marked my first time traveling outside of Nigeria.”
At COLDA, Prince presented an abstract poster on his work, discussing the uptake of the hepatitis B birth dose vaccine within secondary health facilities in Delta State. Led by the course facilitator, Prince also took part in an interactive advocacy workshop with his fellow participants “One of the highlights of the CIP programme was the opportunity to meet fellow participants in person during our first session in Cairo. This experience has significantly enhanced my capacity as a viral hepatitis patient advocate in my home state. The knowledge and skills acquired through the workshop have enabled me to effectively engage with my policymakers at the State Ministry of Health and members of the State Parliament.” Prince went on to say “These engagements have led to a significant milestone: one of which is the championing of the proposed amendment of the HIV/AIDS anti-discrimination, prevention, and protection law to include viral hepatitis, which will protect all persons living with viral hepatitis B and C against stigma and discrimination in Delta State. This amendment is currently underway, and we are closely monitoring its progress.”
Attending COLDA also led to networking opportunities, Prince met with the wider community and forged new partnerships. A significant outcome of these networking opportunities was the establishment of a partnership with Eva Pharma, an Egyptian pharmaceutical company, “Through this partnership, we have secured access to Tenofovir at a subsidized cost for our link-to-treatment programme and Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) project. This is funded by the Hepatitis B Foundation. The PMTCT project was successfully launched in February 2025.”
Since completing the programme, Prince has implemented some of the lessons learnt, helping to address previous barriers “A major hurdle in my state is the limited knowledge among healthcare providers regarding PMTCT and the updated World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. However, I am pleased to report that the skills I acquired through CIP are being effectively utilized to address this gap. Our PMTCT project, currently being piloted in five healthcare facilities, has made notable progress. Newborns are now receiving timely Hepatitis B birth dose vaccination, within 24 hours of birth, every day. This marks a significant improvement from the previous schedule-based approach, which had a timely birth dose uptake rate of 5.8%.”
Prince concluded by stating “I highly recommend the CIP accelerator programme, as it offers more than just a networking opportunity. It provides a valuable platform for capacity building and strengthening one’s work, particularly in advocacy. The programme has been instrumental in enhancing my ability to drive meaningful change in the viral hepatitis space. My participation in CIP and COLDA has been instrumental in facilitating partnerships and collaborations that have improved access to affordable treatment for our projects in Delta State, Nigeria. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity afforded by WHA.”
