Table 2.

Implementation support tools

Training in clinical skills: The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund have developed an integrated package to train community health workers to manage illness in children 2–59 months of age. Caring for the Sick Child in the Community is the gold standard training package for integrated community case management (iCCM). The interventions require the use of four low-cost medicines and one test: an antibiotic, an antimalarial drug, oral rehydration salts, zinc treatment, and rapid diagnostic test (see treatment recommendations in Table 3). In addition, the guidelines support an assessment using the mid-upper arm circumference strip. The sequence to be followed by the community health worker is based on the principle that one observation leads to one action, and does not depend on individual judgment.

Program management: The CORE Group of non-governmental organizations, with support of the U.S. Agency for International Development, published Introduction to Community Case Management Essentials: A Guide for Program Managers, which contains guidance for iCCM. WHO produced a five-day training course, Managing Programs to Improve Child Health, which includes CCM as a crucial ingredient in national child health programming.

These and other tools are available at www.CCMCentral.com. This website, set up by the global CCM Task Force, is a virtual resource center for iCCM tools and information, including relevant publications and case studies.