From effectiveness to sustainability: understanding the impact of CARE's Community Score Card© social accountability approach in Ntcheu, Malawi.

We evaluated the sustainability of CARE's Community Score Card© (CSC) social accountability approach in Ntcheu, Malawi, approximately 2.5 years after the end of formal intervention activities. Using a cross-sectional, exploratory design, we conducted 41 focus groups with members of Community Health Advisory Groups (CHAGs) and youth groups and 19 semi-structured interviews with local and district government officials, project staff, and national stakeholders to understand how and in what form CSC activities are continuing.

Evaluating Young People's Ability to Sustain an Evidence-Based Social Accountability Approach to Improve Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Ntcheu, Malawi.

The Community Score Card (CSC), a social accountability approach, brings together community members, service providers, and local government officials to identify issues, prioritize, and plan actions to improve local health services. In addition, young people in Ntcheu, Malawi have been using the CSC approach to mobilize their communities to bring change across varying issues of importance to them. An earlier cluster randomized trial in Ntcheu showed the CSC effectively increased reproductive health behaviors, improved satisfaction with services, and enhanced the coverage and quality of services.