Peer-to-peer training, a good practice in the field of international hospital cooperation

During this International Hospital Cooperation Day, which was organised by the French Hospital Federation (FHF), Expertise France’s teams highlighted the “peer-to-peer” training method as a good practice.

Chad: 89 hospital “buddy” missions organised by PASST2

In Chad, hospital “buddy” missions are central to the PASST2 project’s system to build the skills of health staff. Financed by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) with funds from I3S and Muskoka via the Chadian Ministry of Health, this project has mobilised 7 French partner hospitals and associations to take part in regular immersion missions – 2 to 3 a year lasting from 7 to 15 days – with Chadian health and management professionals in 30 health facilities at all levels of the country’s health system.

A total of 89 “buddy” missions were deployed in 3 cities between 2016 and 2020, mobilising 94 French experts with varied and complementary profiles. An evaluation conducted in 2019 found that there had been noticeable changes in the day-to-day behaviour and practices of health staff: development of knowledge, skills and interpersonal skills; much greater awareness; acquisition of permanent reflexes integrated into practices, etc.

At the project completion, Expertise France produced a set of fact sheets from the capitalisation of the project, more specifically of the system to build the skills of health staff in the field of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health in Chad.

Download the set of fact sheets and capitalisation handbook from PASST2 (in French)

Guinea: training planned on medical equipment maintenance with PASA2

In Guinea, training in maintenance for staff from health facilities is one of the components of the PASA2 project, as it will contribute to the quality of healthcare provision and ensure the sustainability of investments in equipment.

Expertise France has therefore built a strategy in Guinea based on three areas which are combined and complement each other: support to the central level, investments in infrastructure and equipment and capacity building for maintenance in the areas concerned at local level, peer-to-peer training and inter-ministerial consultations. It is a holistic approach that ultimately sustainably strengthens the capacities of the staff and reception conditions of health facilities.

Expertise France, a lead contractor for French technical expertise in health

During the International Hospital Cooperation Day, the Director of Expertise France's Health Department and the Head of AFD’s Health and Social Protection Division both spoke together in a plenary session about the closer ties between the two agencies and the role of hospital partnerships in health cooperation.

As an operator that acts as lead contractor for French technical expertise, Expertise France was at the centre of the issues addressed throughout the day: maternal, newborn and child health, paediatric cancer, diabetes, mental health… All these issues involved experts mobilised by the agency or projects that its teams had implemented. A review session on this day is scheduled for next September to collect the feedback and suggestions of the participants and maintain contacts between the stakeholders in international hospital cooperation who took part in this event.