Straight to the Point Capacity Building Tools

“Straight to the Point” is a series of capacity-building tools designed to assist community-based organizations and local NGOs tackle a range of problems in sexual and reproductive health.

The series is intended to provide guidance in a practical technique, or basic information that permits practical intervention; the language is relatively simple, the guidance makes use of checklists and graphics to the greatest extent possible, and all installments in the Straight to the Point series are relatively short. No effort is made to be exhaustive on any of the topics. Instead the series provides local implementers with what they need to perform important tasks without the technical or literacy burden that often accompanies “gold standard” technical materials. These are all tools that will help in developing a communication program.

Last modified: July 23, 2021

Language: English, French, Portuguese

RESOURCES

Tools

Examples

    Umoja: Transforming Communities [Guides]

    Umoja (Swahili for ‘togetherness’), is a church and community initiative. It helps church leaders and their congregations work together with the local community to bring about positive change for the whole community. Umoja does this by helping these local institutions build on the resources and skills they already have. It is a process that inspires and equips local people with a vision for determining their own future with their own resources. The Umoja process is based on more than 20 years of experience of working with churches and communities throughout Africa and Asia.

    Umoja consists of two main guides, one for facilitators and one for coordinators. The Umoja Facilitator’s Guide contains Bible studies, activities, energizers, tools, advice and a step-by-step process to help a church and community become inspired and start working for transformation in their community. The Umoja Coordinator’s Guide provides everything that an organization or church needs to know to start and manage an Umoja program across a number of local communities.

    Last modified: July 23, 2021

    Language: Bangla, Cantonese, English, French, Portuguese

    RESOURCES

    Tools

    Examples

      Zandi’s Song Book and Teacher’s Guide

      This is a colorfully illustrated story about a 15-year-old girl who raises chickens to help pay school fees. It includes, woven within the story, messages about handling chickens, handwashing, preventing the transmission of Avian Flu, how to protect a farm’s flock from contracting it, and involving village leadership in Avian Flu activities. The Teacher’s Guide includes questions, exercises, and activities for teachers and students to participate in after reading the book.

      Source: FHI360

      Date of Publication: July 20, 2021

      Gender and Health Hub

      The Gender and Health Hub is a network of policymakers, researchers, and implementers working at the intersection of gender and global health.

      The Hub publishes synthesised policy-relevant evidence and best practices to support gender integration in health programming. Our aim is to bridge the gap between knowledge and action, build a diverse community to share learnings, and catalyse evidence for impact.

      The Hub has a Buzzboard which helps users connect with each other over common interests in the field of gender and health.

      Last modified: April 7, 2021

      Language: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

      Gender and Health Hub COVID-19 Buzzboard

      The COVID-19 and Gender Buzzboard covers many topics generated by users, and is a collaborative tool for agenda setting and research initiatives.

      These topics include:

      • Health knowledge, behavior, and status of those directly and indirectly affected by COVID-19 across the life course i.e., mental health, NCDs, SRHR, including health promotion and prevention interventions.
      • Therapeutic, diagnostic & digital interventions, i.e., COVID-19 biomedical, clinical, biology/immunology research and product development.
      • Health service delivery implications and impacts of COVID-19, including utilization, supply chain, workforce, financing, digital health etc.
      • Social & structural determinants of gender dynamics affecting or impacted by COVID-19, including gender-based, intimate partner violence and sexual harassment, social protection, employment, etc.
      • Governance of COVID-19 health systems, including relationships with non-health multisectoral, private, and political actors for health (feminist movements, civil society, parliamentarians, private-sector etc.).

      Last modified: April 7, 2021

      Language: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

      Go Teachers! Creating a Safe and Supportive Environment for Girls at School: A Training Manual for School Personnel and Teachers

      This manual is part of the Go Girls! Toolkit and was developed to assist a broad range of school personnel to understand girls’ vulnerability to HIV and the relationship between girls’ vulnerability to HIV, school and education.

      Through this program, school personnel can come to recognize and strengthen their roles as protectors of vulnerable girls and agents of change in their schools. The topics covered in the various exercises and workshops include: gender, violence, communication, life skills, power issues, coercion, and providing support to students.

      The manual is available in:

      Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs

      Date of Publication: November 10, 2020

      Go Students! School-Based Life Skills for Girls and Boys: A Teacher’s Manual

      This manual is part of the Go Girls! Toolkit and aims to help teachers teach students a range of life skills that will help them protect themselves from HIV/AIDS.

      The manual includes ideas for communication and teaching on the following topics: personal strengths, healthy friendships, communication, adults as helpers, how an adolescent’s body changes, how pregnancy happens, HIV, readiness to engage in sexual activity, sex with older men, healthy friendships, being faithful, alcohol use, and risk taking.

      It is available in:

      Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs

      Date of Publication: November 10, 2020

      Go Communities! A Manual for Mobilizing Communities to Take Action to Reduce Girls’ Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS

      This manual is part of the Go Girls! Toolkit and aims to strengthen the skills of mobilizers and community facilitators to motivate communities around reducing girls’ vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. The Go Girls! Initiative aimed to reduce HIV prevalence among vulnerable adolescent girls aged 10-17 in Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique.

      This manual is designed around a Community Action Cycle for reducing girls’ vulnerability to HIV/AIDS which includes the following steps: getting prepared, getting organized, promoting community dialogue, building consensus and planning together, taking collective action, and evaluating together.

      The manual is available in:

      Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs

      Date of Publication: November 10, 2020

      Go Families! Building Adults’ Skills to Communicate with Young People: A Training Manual

      This manual is part of the Go Girls! Toolkit and prepares parents, caregivers, initiation counselors and other concerned adults to better communicate with the young people in their lives about the unique needs, concerns and interests of adolescents.

      The manual helps adults engage in nurturing, supportive relationships with young people through role-modeling and by building communication and relationship skills. The manual covers the following: positive communication, adolescence and puberty, talking about sex, talking about HIV, talking to kids who don’t want to talk, being a role model, talking about money, talking about alcohol, and knowing where kids hang out.

      It is available in:

      Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs

      Date of Publication: November 10, 2020

      Go Girls! Visual Brief

      This visual brief is used like a flipchart to teach young adults about HIV.

      It includes the following topics, among others:

      • Spread of HIV
      • Protection from HIV
      • Knowledge and Attitudes
      • Relationships with family
      • Relationships with friends

      There is also a facilitator’s guide to teach health workers and teachers how to use this visual brief.

      The visual brief is available in:

      Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

      Date of Publication: November 10, 2020