AMP Health

Photo credit: AMP Health

About AMP Health

AMP Health supports governments in building visionary and effective public sector teams, particularly within health ministries. Since its inception in 2015, AMP Health has partnered with teams in 15 African countries, facilitating the skill improvement for over 700 civil servants. The approach combines embedded support, experiential learning workshops, peer learning, and coaching to foster effective teamwork and institutionalize leadership and management capabilities.

Currently, AMP Health partners with Ministry of Health teams in community health, non-communicable diseases, malaria, tuberculosis, immunizations, maternal and child health, health innovation, and regional systems strengthening. In 2023, AMP Health expanded its partnerships with government teams, with 14 management partners embedded in health ministries across 12 countries: the Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, and Zambia. The team also remains engaged with those who no longer have a management partner in Sierra Leone and Togo, supporting their continued leadership and management development journeys.

Highlights from 2023

EXPANDING REACH

AMP Health’s partnerships have steadily expanded in response to the increased desire for leadership and management support. They now reach individuals and teams across various countries and programmatic areas including community health, epidemiology, innovation, and more.

DEPTH OF ENGAGEMENT

By engaging deeply with partner teams and across multiple programmatic areas, AMP Health enhances its ability to support health ministries in transforming their institutional cultures and practices sustainably.

PARTNER SATISFACTION

High partner satisfaction levels underscore the effectiveness of AMP Health’s approach, with senior ministry officials and team leads consistently reporting positive outcomes that meet or exceed their expectations.

In 2023, AMP Health continued to strengthen its impact through various initiatives:

NEW PARTNERSHIPS

AMP supported two new partnerships in Ghana: one focused on subnational leadership and management capability development, another supporting the government’s establishment of a Country Innovation Platform, and a third in the Central African Republic in response to governments’ eagerness for deeper engagement.

TEAM EFFECTIVENESS

Through regular assessments, AMP Health ensured that partner teams exhibited healthy and effective team dynamics, focusing on trust, cohesiveness, role clarity, and shared purpose.

INDIVIDUAL SKILL ENHANCEMENT

Monitoring individual progress, AMP Health observed improvements across all tracked leadership and management competencies, with team members reporting increased capability and independence in their roles.

Helping teams achieve their goals

• In Chad, the National Malaria Control Program received recognition for exceptional performance in malaria prevention, attributed to meticulous planning, effective partner coordination, and data digitization.
• In Mali, the health oversight team successfully engaged partners to bolster support for the National Health Strategic Plan, improving planning, communication, and negotiation skills.
• The National Malaria Control Service of Mauritania was promoted to a program within the Ministry of Health, demonstrating the impact of their work and enhanced visibility.
• In Liberia, improved coordination of insulin distribution was achieved through enhanced communication with partners and the Ministry of Health’s oversight of supplies, ensuring a more transparent and equitable process.
• In Ghana, a new partnership between the Ghana Health Service (GHS), USAID, Grand Challenges Canada, and AMP Health established a Country Innovation Platform (CIP) to identify and support innovative solutions to critical health challenges. The CIP was launched in February 2023 with a co-creation workshop facilitated by GHS. Chioma Ogbozor, an AMP Health Management Partner, works with the GHS team to help them identify health challenges where innovation is most needed, identify high-potential innovations, and prepare for scaling up and institutionalizing innovations.
• In Nigeria, Zambia, and now Chad, AMP Health has been working alongside the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents (GFF) to strengthen the leadership and management skills of teams working to improve health outcomes for women and children.

“The mentors leverage their professional knowledge, experience, and expertise combined with their coaching skills to empower the regional directors and their teams to make strategic decisions and to find solutions to the complex issues the regions encounter.”

Ronke Ampiah Adamaley
^{AMP Health's Management Partner in Ghana}

“Walking with the Nigeria Country Leadership Program (CLP) through their transformative leadership journey has been inspiring. As many team members acknowledge, a lot of the concepts of the CLP were familiar, but there was a fresh perspective and approach to applying transformative leadership competencies to their day-to-day work.”

Dr. Shola Dele-Olowu
^{AMP Health's Management Partner in Nigeria}

2023 by the Numbers 14 management partners embedded in health ministries across 11 countries, supporting teams across three languages (English, French, and Portuguese) 29 leadership & management development and training sessions convened, including two Leadership Lab events that brought multiple teams together 6 new members have been added to AMP’s partnership board, five of whom are from Africa

Lessons Learned

AMP Health recently completed the development of its next strategic plan, which will guide its work leading up to the 2030 deadline for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. AMP expresses gratitude for continued support as it works alongside African public sector teams to help them achieve their goals in serving their people. Here are key lessons learned in 2023:

Linking Skills Development to Team Achievements: The intrinsic value of skill development lies in its tangible impact on health systems. Building skills must directly result in improvements in team performance and health outcomes to be truly effective.

Behavior Change Takes Time: Sustainable behavior change is gradual. Longer embedded periods allow for deeper engagement, leading to consistent team dynamics and performance improvements over time.

Rapid Impact is Possible: While behavior change requires time, AMP Health has observed significant improvements in team cohesion, stakeholder management, and efficiency within as little as six months of intervention in some instances.

Understanding the Evolution of Team Development: Teams follow a predictable development trajectory, from building trust to introducing new practices and eventually becoming more strategic and ambitious in their goals.

Addressing Basic Needs Yields Significant Gains: Even small improvements in basic infrastructure and team dynamics can create substantial impact, particularly in challenging working environments.

Adapting to Geographic Expansion: As AMP Health expands the communities it serves, the organization must continue to adapt its approach to accommodate diverse languages and local contexts, ensuring relevance and effectiveness.

Prioritizing Inclusivity: Creating an inclusive environment where every team member feels valued and included is essential for unlocking improved performance and ownership.

Looking Forward

As AMP Health continues its mission to strengthen leadership and management capacities in African health systems, it remains committed to expanding its reach, deepening engagement with partner teams, and fostering sustainable transformation. Through ongoing partnerships and innovative initiatives, AMP Health aims to catalyze positive change and contribute to the long-term resilience and effectiveness of health systems across the continent.