Improving community health in a developing country through cross-sector collaboration

This article describes cross-sector collaborative efforts that addressed a complex public health crisis in a developing urban area. Specifically, Old Fadama is an informal settlement in Accra, Ghana, and it has suffered from poor sanitation and cholera outbreaks. The researchers took part in a participatory action research project that fostered cross-sector collaboration to address health problems in Old Fadama. 

Instead of either a “top-down” or “bottom-up” approach, the researchers adopted an approach they called "middle-out" collaboration. This involved placing a highly trusted, morally authoritative third party—in this case, Catholic sisters—in the "middle" of the project to bridge the gap between government agencies and the community. The researchers facilitated a process where stakeholders used their own resources, agreed on a shared problem, and transformed the "wicked" challenge of slum sanitation into a solvable technical project of installing latrines. This approach not only improved local infrastructure but also changed city sanitation policy and created a sustainable model adopted by local businesses.
 

Building Cross-Sector Collaboration to Improve Community Health
Authors: Jessica Kritz and Peter Batsa
Published: 2020, Journal of Health and Human Services Administration