The ecohealth system and the community engagement movement in foundations: A case study of mutual benefits from grants funded by the United Nations Foundation

Abstract

Ecohealth is a process for identifying key environmental determinants causing mortality or morbidity and combating them by mobilizing multiple social sectors. Evolving out of the concept of environmental health, ecohealth provides a framework for long‐term sustainability. The health outcomes anticipated by environmental interventions are part of a long‐term agenda and require fundamental groundwork for the growth of community‐driven development. Building long‐term sustainability requires that two key approaches be developed through ecohealth. The first is the strengthening of local community institutions, whether formal or informal. The second is building financial mechanisms that are more diversified and less reliant on a single donor. As a result, the ecohealth system provides an opportunity for foundations to empower communities, build cross‐cutting cooperation, and gain knowledge through projects. If people's environmental behaviour is to change and be sustained in the long term to produce desired health outcomes, this will require all members of society to be capable of functioning within the existing institutional infrastructure. This means that not only do formal institutions need to become more accessible but also that concepts relating to local informal institutions must be incorporated into ecohealth projects. It is imperative that we identify and understand relevant local institutions and how they can be transformed so that new environmental forms of behaviour can be sustained and result in positive health outcomes. The intersection of environmental and health concerns provides an ideal area in which the gap between government and civil society can be bridged — not only providing solutions to ecohealth concerns, but building government capacity in general and making these positive changes sustainable in the long term. This article is a case study, based on several United Nations Foundation grants. It outlines the significance of traditional community organizations, the breadth of their long‐term relations with communities, their resources, and the adoption of sustained forms of behaviour. In addition, the article highlights the role that international foundations can play in creating innovative financing mechanisms through community‐based foundations.

Academic Institutions and One Health

“…22 Furthermore, the Eco Health movement and the United Nations Foundation grants, which are inherently transdisciplinary, have highlighted the transdisciplinary approach as a necessary component in addressing complex One Health issues. 23 …”

Initiating community engagement in an ecohealth research project in Southern Africa

“…A review of some global multicentre ecohealth projects revealed that engagement occurs through forming community coalitions and partnerships, forming advisory committees, creating open community fora, and standardising principles, but not in individual site activities [13–15, 18–21]. The strategy of forming partnerships with a community’s formal, informal and governmental organizations in a community was the most reported strategy for gaining entry into communities and ensured the sustainability of projects [15, 18, 19]. Effen et al [15] and Ranjan et al [22] report having formed partnerships with policy makers such as departments of health, meteorological services or pollution control boards to ensure that interventions were implemented and sustained over time.…”

Sustainability within the Academic EcoHealth Literature: Existing Engagement and Future Prospects

“…Spiegel et al covered the term "sustain" together with participation [85] coming to the same conclusion as stated under Section 3.2.2. Yacoop et al in their article The EcoHealth System and the Community Engagement Movement in Foundations: A Case Study of Mutual Benefits from Grants Funded by the United Nations Foundation concluded that donors and governments ignore the critical link between and alignment of control and responsibility for long-term sustainability when discussing civil society and participation [49].…”

“…Returning to the concept of sustainable solution(s), one article thematized that "eroded social infrastructure along with market-oriented ideologies may serve to promote short-term interventions over longer term sustainable solutions" [82]. One article argued that the transdisciplinary approach is critical to building sustainable solutions [83] and two others argue that true community involvement is needed for sustainable solutions [49,84]. The idea that the failure to appreciate how complex systems interact has ultimately prevented sustainable solutions from being adopted is being questioned [85].…”

“…Sustainable Development (SD) n = 28 articles mentioned the term "sustainable development" in the body of their text. Of these n = 28 articles only n = 7 articles [41, [48][49][50][51][52] mentioned sustainable development more than twice in the body. Of the n = 28 articles, only n = 8 engaged with the term conceptually.…”