Connexus worked with USAID, Global Health Council, IntraHealth, Catholic Relief Services, John Snow International, and others to design a participatory conference to address the need for additional resources and support for community health systems and infrastructure, which was found lacking during the peak of the Ebola crisis in 2014. Cracking the Nut Health built on the success of Connexus’ traditional Cracking the Nut learning events, which have helped guide rural and agricultural development, access to finance, and food security.
This learning event identified innovative approaches and remaining issues related to scaling up access to community health systems, facilitating public and private partnerships and investment, and linking community level knowledge to global resources. Cracking the Nut Health was designed to be highly interactive, using the latest communication technologies and social media. Connexus organized an advisory group to review proposals to present innovative approaches and lessons learned in global health and resilience. Cracking the Nut Health took place in July 2016 and convened more than 300 global participants in Washington, DC. For more information, see www.crackingthenuthealth.com.