Capacity Building

Our capacity building projects focus on collaborative and sustainable paediatric health workforce training and education programs; with emphasis on health systems strengthening for specific newborn, child and adolescent health issues where there is a match between identified need and skills and SickKids' expertise.

The criteria for our projects include impact, reach, sustainability, local ownership, efficacy and scalability.

Experienced clinical and project management teams drive current initiatives in Africa, the Caribbean and online.

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Capacity building in Africa

Current projects

Sickle Cell Disease Newborn Screening in Ghana

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common genetic diseases worldwide. In Ghana, about one in every 50 children is born with SCD, and more than half die before the age of five. These deaths can be avoided through simple, cost-effect interventions such as newborn screening, parental education and prevention of pneumococcal (by penicillin prophylaxis and pneumococcal vaccination) and malaria infections, which are essential and needed throughout areas where SCD is prevalent.

Aligning with the Ghana Ministry of Health’s 2010 Policy to implement newborn screening for SCD nationwide, we’ve partnered with Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) to implement a SCD newborn screening program at KBTH - Ghana’s largest public hospital. Support for this project is provided by Pfizer.

The program is designed to identify SCD-positive babies as early as possible and provide them with the treatment they need to reduce illness and death. The program is charting progress, collecting data on screening and treatment, and will serve as a model for other centres across sub-Saharan Africa.

Partners and Stakeholders

• Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana
• Ghana Health Service
• Sickle Cell Foundation of Ghana

Objectives

• Build capacity within KBTH to screen and treat all children with SCD
• Screen approximately 11,000 newborns at KBTH each year, plus an additional 12,500 through community expansion in 2020-2021
• Follow babies identified as SCD-positive through regular clinic visits at KBTH
• Collect patient data and maintain a patient registry
• Ensure all patients have access to medication and treatment
• Apply learnings to inform newborn screening programs beyond the hospital

We also leverage the Global Sickle Cell Disease Network  to share our learnings with the global SCD community.

To learn more about the program's activities check out the latest issue of the Program Update. 

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Community-based Sickle Cell Disease Care and Screening in Ghana 

Through this project, a community-based approach involving rapid point-of-care diagnostics and local SCD follow-up clinics will expand access to SCD care. Specialized SCD follow-up clinics will be supported at Princess Marie Louise (PML) Hospital and Maamobi Hospital, both located in the Greater Accra region.  

Once the specialized SCD follow-up clinics have been established, the project will integrate SCD screening into existing immunization clinics at both hospitals using state-of-the-art point-of-care testing. 

This integrated model, coupled with supportive counselling, will enhance the tracking of screen-positive children and improve access to essential medicines and follow-up care. Support for this project is provided by Pfizer.

Partners and Stakeholders 

The three primary partners for this project are the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health, Princess Marie Louise Hospital, and Maamobi Hospital. Other key stakeholders include Ghana Health Service/Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate (strategic partner), Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (technical advisor and clinical referral partner), Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives (technical support and advisor for training) and the Sickle Cell Foundation of Ghana (data stewardship partner).

Objectives 

• Establish and support SCD follow-up clinics at PML Hospital and Maamobi Hospital 
• Train and sensitize frontline healthcare workers on the burden and relevance of SCD screening and management within the Ghanaian healthcare system. 
• Develop targeted curriculum and local Master Trainers to train a cadre of nurses and other healthcare workers with advanced knowledge on SCD screening and management. 
• Apply enhanced training in SCD management in an additional rural setting to support the initiation of SCD clinics more widely. 
• Integrate SCD screening with infant vaccination clinics at both PML and Maamobi hospitals.  
• Incorporate screening results into an existing SCD registry for efficient data management. 

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Capacity building in the Caribbean

Current projects

Shaw Centre for Paediatric Excellence (SCPE)

SCPE is a partnership focused on elevating and further integrating education, clinical care, and research to positively impact the health and well-being of children in Barbados and throughout the Eastern Caribbean. SCPE is investing in excellence and innovation in paediatric education and paediatric care, patient and family experience in the clinical environment and paediatric research and innovation over the space of seven years (2020-2027). To learn more, view the SCPE one-pager (PDF).

Partners and Stakeholders 

SickKids Centre for Global Child Health is working in partnership with the Barbados Ministry of Health and Wellness, Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and The University of the West Indies (The UWI), and The UWI George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre. 

Objectives 

Barbados will be established as a centre for paediatric excellence through a robust partnership and targeted investment in:  

• Establishing a critical mass of health workers with expertise in paediatrics, and maximize the quality of the environments in which they work 
• Leveraging the new skilled health workforce to improve the quality of paediatric care and establish a culture of continuous improvement 
• Research and advocacy that informs policy and drives sustainability 

Anticipated Results 

• Development and initiation of a post-graduate diploma in paediatric nursing through The UWI, Cave Hill Campus  
• Training of physicians in targeted paediatric subspecialties identified by QEH 
• Ongoing improvement of clinical care in Barbados through international observerships in quality improvement and quality improvement initiatives 
• Establishment of patient amenity fund to support families from the Eastern Caribbean to access care at QEH 
• Refurbishment of QEH paediatric ward and child health polyclinics 
• Investment in research to inform policy and drive sustainability 

Learn more about SCPE by reading the 2020 launch announcement: 

SickKids and Government of Barbados launch partnership to establish Centre for Paediatric Excellence

Over a span of seven years, the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health will work with its partners in Barbados and in the broader region, to establish Barbados as a Centre for Paediatric Excellence.

For more information, please contact scpe.comms@sickkids.ca. 

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SickKids-Caribbean Initiative (SCI)

SCI is a not-for-profit collaboration between the Centre for Global Child Health and seven Caribbean institutions across six countries that strives to improve the outcomes and quality of life for children with cancer and blood disorders.

Since 2013, healthcare specialists at SickKids in Toronto and their counterparts in the Caribbean have been working together to support the early identification and treatment of children living with cancer and blood disorders in the Caribbean.

In 2022, the SickKids Foundation established The Victor Blanchette Caribbean Endowment Fund in honour of Dr. Victor Blanchette, a founding member of SCI, in recognition of his commitment and dedication to the enhancement of paediatric care in the Caribbean. The fund supports continued work focused on paediatric cancer and blood disorders in the Caribbean.  

Partners and Stakeholders 

SCI is a collaboration between SickKids, the University of the West Indies (UWI), Ministries of Health and key hospitals and institutions from the six participating Caribbean countries: The Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. 

Objectives

Building sustainable, local capacity to diagnose, treat and manage paediatric cancers and blood disorders in the region through: 

• Providing training and education in the areas of haematology/oncology, nursing, and laboratory services based on expressed needs of Caribbean partners 
• Establishing best practices and improving health outcomes through the development and maintenance of local hospital-based paediatric oncology databases and treatment protocols adapted for local use 
• Establishing an integrated and sustainable communication structure to promote education between local partners and SickKids, creating and enhancing a regional community of practice
  

Results 

• Improved access to services for children with cancer and blood disorders in the Caribbean 
• Enhanced capacity for Caribbean partners to provide timely, accurate diagnosis and high-quality follow-up care 
• Strengthened infrastructure that enhances capacity to care for children with cancer and blood disorders 
• Indirect benefits for other users of health systems in the region 
• Robust knowledge exchange and new regional and global linkages established, fostering a sustainable community of practice in the region
  

For more details, check out the SCI 2020-2021 Annual Progress Report, Midterm Evaluation Report (PDF) and Final Evaluation Report (PDF). For past years’ reports, please contact sci.comms@sickkids.ca.

SCI patient education materials for health-care providers

• Hydroxyurea for Sickle Cell Disease (PDF)
• Warning Signs in Children with Cancer (Doc)

SCI technical papers - highlighting the comprehensive project work from inception to 2022

Focused on improving the capacity of local health care professionals to diagnose and treat children with cancer and blood disorders in the Caribbean, the SickKids-Caribbean Initiative (SCI) is an innovative partnership between The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Canada, the University of the West Indies (UWI), local ministries of health and hospitals at seven sites across six Caribbean countries (Barbados, The Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago). 

The following five technical papers, entitled “Reflections on the SickKids-Caribbean Initiative”, provide detailed overviews of key elements of SCI during the first two of its three phases (from 2013 to 2022):

• Administration, Management, and Funding (PDF)
• Education and Training (PDF)
• Case Consultations and Diagnostic Services (PDF)
• Advocacy and External Engagement (PDF)
• Local Oncology Databases Development (PDF)

Questions? Contact the SickKids-Caribbean Initiative at: sci.comms@sickkids.ca

Contact us

For questions or more information about the Centre, please email us at globalchild.health@sickkids.ca, and follow us on Twitter @SickKidsGlobal and LinkedIn.

Address

Centre for Global Child Health 
The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) 
525 University Avenue, Suite 702 
Toronto, ON, M5G 2L3

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