Integrating child health services: Benefits of a grantmaking model

Background: The Global Fund for Children makes small grants to innovative community-based organizations working to address the needs of the world's most vulnerable children and youth. To holistically address the needs of children and youth, the Global Fund introduced a grantmaking model in 2003 that provides supplemental funding to regular small grants allowing community-based to offer complementary health and wellbeing service in addition to their standard programs for children and youth. Methods: A retrospective thematic coding analysis was conducted of supplemental health and wellbeing grants awarded to education focused community-based organizations between the Spring of 2003 to the Spring of 2006. Qualitative data on supplemental grant utilization was also collected to identify case studies of enabling health and wellbeing services provided by educational community-based organizations and document the impact of these complementary services on overall program effectiveness. Results: Supplemental grants have allowed community-based educational organizations to address basic health and wellbeing needs not typically supported through educational grants. Accordingly, these supplemental grants have permitted community-based educational organization to provide a variety of services ranging from accessing antiretroviral treatment, meal services and personal hygiene supplies that affected the overall effectiveness of child and youth community-based education programming. Conclusions: To increase the effectiveness of community-based child and youth education programs, complementary activities that address health and wellbeing barriers are important enabling services. Grantmaking models that integrate health and wellbeing services to grantees general education programs helps facilitate more positive development among children and youth served by community-based educational organizations.