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Geriatric Care & Vulnerable Support Initiative

GCVSI Work Plan

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Work plan

Overview

This document outlines the proposed activities and initiatives that the Executive Board of GCVSI plans to deliver in 2020-2021. The Work Plan (the Plan) presents our proposed activities under Activity areas linked to sub-headings. Our intention is for the Plan to be an integrated document and an opportunity for GCVSI to develop working and collaborative relationships with all relevant stakeholders in achieving our aims.

Work Plan

Our Committed Goal

To act as a foremost non-governmental organization enhancing the voice and protecting the dignity and rights of the underserved communities and vulnerable population (Older Persons, pregnant women, children under 5fiveyears, and victims of Gender-based violence), through effective stakeholder engagement, health and social policy development, research, and project implementation which includes health promotion, disease prevention, and citizen-led actions. GCVSI’s core mission lies in making a case for health and social service disparities which are more prominent than ever, following increasing inequalities in socio-economic status.

GCVSI is making significant cases and advocacy while addressing the growing marginalization and discrimination between high-income and low-income families and among different demographic populations. The burden of poor health and social outcomes continues to fall disproportionately on lower-income families and the most vulnerable (Older Persons, pregnant women, and children under five years and victims of gender-based violence). The resulting social and economic insecurity is rapidly translating into an increasing gap between rich and poor within various communities in accessing the necessary healthcare and social service opportunities to develop resilience in the face of any stress agents.

  1. More significant equity in the health and social inclusion of Older Persons, pregnant women, and children under-five years in a given population;
  2. Effective collaboration and partnerships to produce optimal and equitable health and social outcomes;
  3. Improving accessible, evidence-based knowledge and practical experience in health and social inclusion of the underserved population through health promotion, disease prevention, and direct provision of healthcare services as well as socio-economic empowerment;
  4. Excellence in policy and practice for effective, quality health and social inclusion programs;
  5. Adopt high capacity level lobbying of Individuals, organizations, and policymakers to promote health and social inclusion activities.
Work Plan

Eye-Opening Realities & A Call for Action

While our guiding principles have proven effective with international, regional, and national health and social inclusion policies, citing the unprecedented increase and projections in the aging population. “Between 2017 and 2050, the number of older persons in Africa is expected to grow faster than any region, with a projected 229% increase. In 2017, the total number was 69million people, 7.1% of the global total projected to 226 million in 2050 and could account for 10.9 % of older people worldwide” (UNDESA, 2017). The outcry by UNICEF on the devastating harm caused by the covid-19 outbreak on maternal and newborn management, including interruption of immunization and distribution of vaccination, is a new round of challenge steering in our faces with its unmeasurable accompanying mortality rates in low- and middle-income communities and particularly those from low-income families.

According to the recently published 2019 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey by the National Population Commission (NPC) Nigeria in all the states of the Federation, Imo state was recorded to experience increased child mortality rates as well as the highest rate of women who suffers neglects and abuses within the family structures among the South-East States. These various data are a wake-up call to our collective consciences to the duties and responsibilities towards upholding the right to healthcare services for pregnant women and children and gender affirmative action according to the United Nations Principles. Gender-based violence begins from the failure to recognize a woman as an integral decision-making instrument in the family. Hence, we must push collectively to protect the place of gender in our society.

 The intention to link and demonstrate the contribution of health and social inclusions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Universal Health Coverage (UHC), and indeed the improved zeal for citizen’s led actions towards contributing to the improvement of health and social outcomes presents a significant development and opportunity for further coordination.

Another focal area is developing a research plan that focuses on population health service using implementation science to improve delivery systems and public health policies instead of documenting the importance and causes of problems.

We are in the era of implementation science, population health service research, or community health research. Hence, a growing number of researchers, decision-makers, scientific editors, and research funders are willing to promote a science of solution.

As Such, the Following has been Achieved:

  1. The integration of knowledge translation within the research process inviting knowledge users (decision-makers and practitioners to be part of the research endeavours);
  2. The multi-disciplinary and integration of multiple research methods and perspectives which make ample room for those from the social sciences;
  3. The development of professional practice and decision making informed by research to increase impact;
  4. Development of workable health and social Improvement services based on research principles;
  5. Improving socioeconomic status with positive outcomes on social determinants of health;
  6. Respectful partnerships and collaborations drive strategic stakeholders’ engagements.
Work Plan

Some Outstanding Moments for GCVSI

The year 2018 and 2019 marked a turning point for GCVSI:

  1. GCVSI secured an accreditation into the United Nations Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing under the office of the President of the United Nations General Assembly,
  2. Convened the first aging conference in Imo State, Nigeria.
  3. Signed a Ten-Year Strategic Partnership with the Government of Imo State on Ageing and Social Development.
  4. GCVSI was appointed the South-East coordinator of the Coalition of Societies for the Rights of Older Persons in Nigeria (COSROPIN).
  5. GCVSI, through its advocacy under COSROPIN, played a significant role in the operationalization of the National Senior Citizen Centre Abuja, Nigeria.
  6. GCVSI participated actively through COSROPIN to ensure that the Nigerian National Assembly passed the Older Persons’ Rights and Privileges bill in 2021.
  7. GCVSI as a member of the Stakeholder Group on Ageing (SGA) Africa, participated in the Africa International High-Level Conference on the Human Rights Situation of Older Persons in Africa. GCVSI continues to engage with stakeholders in the ECOWAS sub-region to enact sweeping laws to strengthen the human rights of Older Persons in the region.
  8. In addition, GCVSI has extensively engaged in various national, regional, and global endeavours to achieve its objectives while strongly supporting its guiding principles on closing the gap of healthcare and social service disparities between the rich and the poor, predominantly low-income families. And at the same time, promoting citizens-led action for their health and social care.
Work Plan

Priority Areas

The Executive Board has previously agreed to focus our work on Six priority areas:

  • Tackling the social determinants of health;
  • Embark on implementation science research aimed at developing working, scalable health and social inclusion policies;
  • Improve the accessibility of medications and healthcare services for the underserved population, emphasizing Older Persons, Homeless People, Pregnant women, and children under 5-year. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) prevention on the aging population through effective health education, utilizing health promotion and advocacy as a strategic approach;
  • Strengthening health promotion systems and disease prevention strategies;
  • Engaging policymakers in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In doing so, we have planned to use the following strategies: 

  • Promoting “Health for All” policies approach irrespective of the socio-economic status, with emphasis on Older Persons and Pregnant women and children under (Five) 5 years;
  • Advocacy for health promotion, disease prevention, and equitable access to healthcare service policies and programs to capture the underserved;
  • Collaborative efforts in research and ‘Translating’ research and evidence into useable knowledge and know-how for improving service delivery;
  • Supporting the capacity building of the health workforce, policymakers, and other civil societies to produce a multi-dimensional approach;
  • Establish physical infrastructural facilities to aid services to the underserved population, especially the aging population.

The following are corporate activities which we engage in to make a difference;

  • Knowledge development and transfer
  • Capacity building and skill development
  • External relations and communications (partners and stakeholders)
  • Events
  • Publications Engagement with and involvement of members
  • Member development and internal relations
  • Communications
  • Social media engagements
  • Planning and coordination
  • Achieving organizational stability
  • Financial planning and control
  • Fundraising

Management Committee Support (MCS): 

The Current structure of GCVSI has limited financial resources to sustain staff support. Consequentially, we have acknowledged the need for our Executive Board to be a ‘working’ board. Interestingly, some board members have been providing financial and technical support in various aspects ranging from championing research-focused group discussions, networking, administrative support, and other areas of operations. This represents a considerable resource to support, utilize and engage in moving the organization forward.

Implementation of the proposed activities and the future success of GCVSI will depend on harnessing its members’ talent pool and expertise. GCVSI’s goal is to transition from the founders shouldering almost all the financial burdens to a citizen-led action serving organization with proven technical capacities and the ability to lead and implement essential projects in line with its mission. GCVSI is further upgrading its organizational capacity to global best practices to achieve this transition.

Work Plan

Plans By Activity Area

We extend our influence to make a difference through Knowledge development, transfer, and exchange. GCVSI has a track record of being involved in international, regional, and national initiatives that extend and develop an understanding of what works in health and social inclusion promotion outcomes.

In the coming years, we plan to increase the organization’s capacity to respond to calls for projects involving significant scientific and technical components, successfully carry out these projects, and disseminate their outcomes broadly.

To this end, we will work in particular to: 

  1. Support the development of bids in response to calls for proposals;
  2. Strengthen relevant scientific advisory capacity for project implementation;
  3. Develop a global bank of experts, especially from amongst our members, searchable by areas of expertise and easily updatable;
  4. Develop strategies to engage institutions and partners, and showcase GCVSI’s capacity in project implementation. We intend to increase the impact of GCVSI on the national, regional, and international development of health and social inclusion promotion and intervention practice through research. GCVSI will do so with the actions outlined below:
    • Expand and increase partnerships and collaborations with Governmental and other international development partners.
    • Develop the creation of Technical Working Groups (TWG) on key focused issues. Like Universal Health Coverage UHC (TWG-UHC).
    • Establish regular conference calls with TWG to ensure coordination and collaboration.
    • Capacity building and skill development are essential in the Successful implementation of health and social inclusion policies and programs; hence it depends on the professionals leading them with the appropriate skills and knowledge to do so effectively.
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