COMPASS End-of-Project Report

"The project envisioned an environment in which every Nigerian was involved in learning, planning, and action to improve health and education in his or her community."

This report: describes the basis for the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) investment in the Community Participation for Action in the Social Sector (COMPASS) Project [outlined in detail via the Related Summaries links, below]; explores the different phases of the project over the 5 years of implementation; and highlights critical programme successes and results. Headquartered in Abuja and working out of state offices in Lagos, Kano, Bauchi, and Nasarawa, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), COMPASS reached a total population of over 18 million Nigerians over the course of 5 years, serving as a source of behaviour change communication (BCC) materials support on reproductive health and family planning (RH/FP), basic education, and child survival - including routine immunisation (RI) and polio vaccination - for project beneficiaries and stakeholders. A set of key cross-cutting activities permeated programming in all areas which included: community mobilisation, institutional capacity building, public-private partnerships, policy and advocacy, and monitoring and evaluation. Project activities focused on 4 USAID-defined intermediate goals with a set of indicators and targets for each technical area and were phased to allow the project to implement, measure, and learn at each stage. The lessons learned were used in succeeding phases of the project to increase community ownership and effectiveness.

The report is divided into 10 sections: Establishing the Context, The COMPASS Project, Overview, Program Achievements and Results, Collaboration and Partnerships for Results, Management and Administrative Structure, Financial Summaries, Project Close-out Activities, Lessons Learned, Challenges, Changes, Opportunities, Sustainability, and Recommendations for Future Programs. The report concludes with an annex which includes key documents referred to in the report. Further details can be gleaned from the strategy documents, state profiles, compilation of COMPASS success stories ("Our Change Story"), and CD that accompany this report.

In the first section, figures are presented such as this: The COMPASS baseline survey found that only 15% of health facilities provide immunisation, and 14% conduct outreach sessions. The survey found diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT) 3 coverage at only 13%. "The inability of the system to perform at a minimum level leads to dissatisfaction, high dropout rates, and loss of confidence by clients. Ignorance about immunization and cultural factors such as women's lack of decision-making power contributes to low uptake of immunization at the household level."

Section four of the report provides details about programme achievements and results, with charts and graphs to support the narrative (see page 25). [Sample finding: "Due to COMPASS efforts, the visits for immunizations provided at 506 COMPASS-supported facilities reached about two million vaccinations (1,958,113) in 2008, compared with 678,885 in 2005. Further increase was reported in Year 2009 (1.34 million visits by July 30, 2009). Overall, 7,205,942 visits for immunizations were made during the life of project. A total of 1,549 outreach sessions were carried out by health facilities and service providers."] The importance of participation, accountability and dialogues, and alliances built for sustaining action for social sector development is highlighted here. For example: "The advocacy trainings and mentorship provided to the CCs and Nigerian partners led to an 'awakening' among community members with respect to the role they can play in improving health and education governance. Community members began to influence leaders and hold elected representatives accountable for service delivery gaps."

An excerpt from the report follows:
"The Project developed an organizational structure that ensured the active participation of all stakeholders in the process of change. The central management team at the Abuja Central Office, comprised of senior managers and technical advisors for each core and cross-cutting technical area, provided technical and management support to the state teams. They in turn guided and implemented programmatic activities within their respective states. The degree of integration between COMPASS staff, local experts, and government stakeholders was carefully maintained throughout the Project, increasing community representation at every level.

The Project fostered collaboration including those with other USAID-funded projects: GHAIN for specific HIV/AIDS activities (primarily in prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and for activities targeting the uniformed services), and ENHANSE to cover policy-related activities contributing to an enabling environment at state and local levels.

To achieve significant and sustainable results across all four states and FCT, COMPASS harnessed the cooperation and commitment of thousands of individuals, from the Ministries of Health and Education down to village elders, local Imams, and traditional birth attendants (TBAs). To achieve the necessary bottom-up participation, with genuine local ownership and demand for quality in education and healthcare, major obstacles, including customary hierarchies, were overcome.

Interventions at all levels employed reliable, pragmatic, results-oriented input of resources, including equipment and materials, to achieve tangible improvements in schools and health facilities. To organize and mobilize at the local level, COMPASS introduced community coalitions, local-level volunteer task forces that advocated on behalf of community members with different perspectives on social issues, such as religious and educational leaders, members of community- and faith-based organizations, business and government leaders, and leaders of special interest groups like women's associations.

Apart from core COMPASS integrated health and education interventions, the Project also implemented specific add-on programs for USAID through the polio eradication initiatives that targeted eight additional states labeled high-risk states in 2005. Specific interventions on the polio project included the provision of technical assistance to improve data quality and reliability, intense capacity building for several cadres of government officials and community members, active utilization of COMPASS Nigerian partners, and high-scale community mobilization and strategic communication for reducing the spread of wild polio virus. The polio eradication portfolio also included focused initiatives with the Kano Polio Victims Trust Association (KPVTA). In the final year of the project, through additional funding from USAID-PEPFAR, COMPASS implemented the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Wraparound Initiative....

The COMPASS Project achieved significant results in improving the use of social sector services in the supported communities and local government areas in all supported States. The COMPASS midline evaluation results indicated that the COMPASS Project impacted lives positively: At the LGA [Local Government Area] and community levels, more mothers delivered babies safely, the survival rates of babies increased, more men were involved in education and health promotion for their families and more girls and boys were provided with equal platforms to acquire literacy and numeracy skills to lead Nigeria's communities into the future.

In 2007, a team of program managers from Engenderhealth visited COMPASS-supported communities to assess community involvement in reproductive health/family planning. At the end of their mission, they noted that 'most providers indicated an increase in the number of men attending family planning clinics with their female partners, as well as an increase in the number of clients requesting IUDs [intrauterine devices]'.

In June 2008, a team of USAID consultants evaluated the COMPASS Project and noted among others that 'there appeared to be significant benefits from active community participation, especially in the health sector'. According to the evaluators, active participation led to increased support from the community to improve health service....In addition, greater involvement and commitment at the community, LGA, and state levels attracted additional funding from other donors. The evaluation team also noted that coalition members expressed enormous enthusiasm, dedication, and commitment to continuing relevant activities, even after COMPASS support.

The community mobilization activities of the COMPASS Project (especially the CCs [community coalitions] and QITs [quality improvement teams]) in supported communities have awakened the inertia abilities of community members to become change agents and advocates in their communities. The CC members utilized the platforms created by the Project to pioneer and implement change initiatives that will remain as legacies of the Project in their local communities for years to come."

Click here for the 81-page report in PDF format.