Malaria Prevention for Women and Children

Health Poverty Action would like to say ‘Thank You!’ for supporting our health project through GlobalGiving – ‘Malaria Prevention for Women and Children.’

Health Poverty Action is working to reduce the prevalence and impact of malaria among pregnant women and children in the Bombali District of Sierra Leone. The project entered its second year in September, and a number of activities have been carried out over the last few months.

Community Health Workers are well recognised and highly respected in their communities; most live in villages with limited access to health services. Their engagement with the project has made it possible for Health Poverty Action to reach their communities with vital health messages. Dialogue sessions between Peripheral Health Unit staff and Community Health Workers on the use of Remote Diagnostic Testing (travelling malaria units, allowing staff to test in hard to reach settlements) were conducted in November. They also provided an opportunity for staff and health workers discuss the challenges encountered whilst working at community level. Monthly community dialogue sessions for malaria prevention have been facilitated by community health workers, where they have worked closely with village committees (VDCs).

The Independent Radio Network has developed and produced 35 short radio dramas to run alongside the project - some including generic malaria prevention messages and some with specific messages based on feedback from community health workers on current prevailing malaria issues at community level. These radio dramas will be aired soon.

The teachers, mentioned in our previous report, have been trained and are running sessions with school health clubs. Two teachers per school are holding sessions for 2,000 school pupils every month as peer educators. They will continue to teach the children about various topics related to malaria such as: what causes it, signs and symptoms, breeding grounds and treatment available both at the community and health facility level.

In addition to this progress, we’ve been able to provide storage facilities for the Peripheral Health Units enabling them to store data collection tools as well as the data collected. Quarterly ‘data analysis & report sharing’ meetings have been held across the project area. These meetings have been instrumental in helping staff understand the relevance of data and the difference their work is making.

Your kind support has enabled us to build on the training of the past year and improve the help available to mothers and children in an area where malaria rates are high amongst expectant mothers. Maintaining a space for community dialogue, ensuring the education of young men and women in health-related issues and using sophisticated techniques such as Remote Diagnostic Testing and radio shows will help reduce the spread of malaria. There is still more to be done in helping these communities secure their right to health, but progress is being made every day.

Warmest wishes

Verity and the Team at Health Poverty Action

Links:

• Read Amie's Story - a Maternal Health Worker in Bombali
• Read more about our approach

Health Poverty Action would like to say a huge ‘Thank You!’ for supporting our health project through GlobalGiving – ‘Malaria Prevention for Women and Children.’

Health Poverty Action is working to reduce the prevalence and impact of malaria among pregnant women and children in the Bombali District of Sierra Leone.  We are improving the quality of malaria-related health services; increasing community awareness of the spread and symptoms of malaria and its prevention, and improving data collection and analysis in order to produce a more accurate understanding of the disease in this area.

So far, your support has allowed the project to reach 325 Community Health Workers who have been given in-depth training on malaria diagnosis, treatment and referral. All the Health Workers will receive refresher training and support over the next year of the project. Training has included how to treat malaria in children under two months old; malaria in pregnancy; signs and symptoms of other illnesses that are often mistaken for malaria; and specific myths and misconceptions around malaria. Community Health Workers are well recognised and highly respected in their communities; most of them are in remote and hard to reach areas with limited access to health services. Their engagement with the project has made it possible for Health Poverty Action to reach those communities with health messages.

Health Clubs have been set up in schools which have not been targeted through our previous projects.  These include regular schools and special teenage-pregnancy schools. 100 school teachers, two from each of the targeted schools in the target area, were identified for training as school gender club facilitators. These teachers help to roll out and facilitate school clubs which teach children about various topics related to malaria such as what causes malaria, signs and symptoms, breeding grounds and treatment available both at the community and health facility level.

Your kind support has enabled us to start to build on the education and support available to mothers and children in an area where malaria prevalence rates are high amongst pregnant women. There is still more work to be done. Reaching out to vulnerable groups, with malaria information and services, will help reduce maternal and child mortality rates; increase awareness about basic health steps, and ensure remote communities are not being left out.

Warmest wishes

Verity, Sabrina and the Team at Health Poverty Action

Links:

• Health Poverty Action's Website