In 2017, the Knowledge for Health (K4Health) Project, a project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), conducted a three-day storytelling workshop in Madagascar in collaboration with USAID Madagascar and Blue Ventures.
This workshop gave members of the Madagascar PHE Network an opportunity to improve their knowledge management and storytelling skills, and to share their stories with a new PHE-themed collection of stories (#PHEVoices) for the global Family Planning Voices (#FPVoices) storytelling initiative.
Formed several years ago, the Madagascar Population-Health-Environment (PHE) Network is comprised of health and environmental stakeholders that value cross-sector collaboration to increase health services and integration with sustainable community-based natural resource management. The Madagascar PHE Network builds comprehensive approaches to sustainable development while championing the integration of family planning and other health services with community-based natural resource management and biodiversity conservation.
Our workshop, and the personal stories our visit generated, served as a launch point for renewed advocacy and engagement. It was a chance to share knowledge, listen, and learn about the unique challenges of fostering effective policy and advocacy for integrated approaches to addressing population, health, and the environmental challenges in Madagascar. From the personal narratives, photos, and shared knowledge, a genuine sense of purpose and passion emerged. The Madagascar PHE Network members—people who believe that improved health and wellbeing for people and planet share both the same benefits and the same barriers—were passionate about their work. Their stories are powerful reflections of their passion and dedication to improving the health and wellness of Madagascar’s bio-diverse ecosystems and people.
Access the full photo story here: Passion with Purpose by K4Health
Twenty health and environmental organisations in Madagascar – including Blue Ventures – recently signed the world’s very first PHE quality charter