Muso CHWs and their supervisors during the morning dissemination workshop's pause café (coffee break)
In March 2018, a study published in BMJ Global Health showed the potential of Muso’s ProCCM model: the peri-urban communities where Muso operates, which previously saw some of the world’s highest child mortality rates, have achieved and sustained the lowest rate of child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. In the final year of the study, peri-urban communities where Muso works saw a child mortality rate of seven deaths per 1,000 live births — a rate on par with that of the United States. In addition to being featured in The Atlantic, Forbes, The Guardian, the BBC World Service, Financial Times, and others, these unprecedented results have been met by enthusiasm and invitations for collaboration from leading global policymakers and implementers.
On May 10, 2018, Muso and our Ministry of Health colleagues hosted two dissemination events and celebrations with community members in Bamako marking the magnitude of the study’s findings and continuing our work to integrate Muso’s approach into Mali’s national plan for Community Health Workers. This memorable day consisted of two events: a morning scientific workshop to share recent results and discuss their utilization with a technical and academic community of researchers, decision-makers, and implementers, and an evening cocktail hour to share the results with decision-makers, civil society influencers, and the Malian development community.
Tenendie Samaké, Muso CHW, shares a detailed presentation of CHWs’ activities to workshop attendees
The events included testimonies from CHWs, who explained their intrepid daily work of proactively searching for sick patients door-to-door. Members of the Muso team, including CEO Dr. Ari Johnson and Director of Research Dr. Kassoum Kayentao (both study co-authors), a representative of the Minister of Health, and other government officials also shared their excitement around these findings. Study co-authors detailed the components of the ProCCM model, and explained current research being conducted in Muso’s rural sites through the 2017-2020 ProCCM Trial, which will follow 100,000 patients to better understand the impact of proactive CHW workflow on child mortality and access to health care. The day of celebration was capped by an evening performance by Vieux Farka Touré, Malian musician and Muso cultural ambassador.
Attendees gathered at the scientific workshop
Both events were covered heavily by local media, with newspapers, radio stations, and TV reports helping to disseminate the results observed on the outskirts of Bamako. Partners and peers who attended these events shared their amazement at the impact achieved in partnership with the Ministry of Health, and acknowledged the important potential of this work to save lives not only in peri-urban communities in Mali but also around the world.
Together with our community of partners within and beyond Mali, Muso will continue our mission to make impact of this magnitude a reality for patients everywhere.