During the first 18 months, ENABLE has been laying the foundation for a successful, collaborative, and impactful project. A project kick-off meeting, a collaborative consortium workshop, and the first annual meeting were held during this period. These gatherings not only advanced key technical activities, but also strengthened internal collaboration by building trust, aligning on common goals, and fostering a shared commitment to equity, co-production, and implementation research.
Further, ENABLE has made significant progress in designing, preparing, and initiating the implementation of the ENABLE intervention:
First, a comprehensive formative research was conducted across our study sites, Addis Ababa, Adama, Harar, and Jimma. This phase included health facility observations, interviews with pregnant women, health workers, and key stakeholders, as well as environmental assessments. The findings provided critical insights into existing gaps, behavioural determinants, and the feasibility of integrating NCD prevention into ANC services. Building on these insights, ENABLE co-designed a tailored intervention and implementation package. The content and delivery model were adapted through participatory workshops involving pregnant women, health professionals, and community representatives. According to our plan, we are finalizing the preparations for ENABLE’s transition from needs assessment and adaptation phase to implementation and evaluation phase.
Second, we have made great advancements in developing a digital ANC tool, integrated with local HMIS systems to enable data-driven clinical decision support, delivery and monitoring of the intervention. This system allows ANC providers to register, follow up, and monitor counselling sessions in real time, while also supporting data collection for research and evaluation.
Finally, ENABLE is contributing to local research capacity. All early-career researchers (PhD fellows and postdocs) have been recruited and formally onboarded into their academic programmes. Study protocols for their respective research projects have been developed and submitted for ethics approval. Ongoing training and mentorship are supporting skill development in the project’s scientific areas. The project also collaborates closely with policy-makers and technical partners to promote ownership and integration of project outputs.
