Provide healthcare to remote displaced communities

1.0 Background

The activities of “THE REMOTE COMMUNITY’S HEALTH PROMOTION PROJECT” funded by the GlobalGiving crowdfunding platform to supply free primary healthcare services to people in vulnerable communities affected by the ongoing socio-political crisis in the South-West region of Cameroon. The project activities continued with community engagement by supplying primary healthcare, sensitization, and nutrition services in July.

The community was engaged through the planned project activities which were, the treatment of simple malaria cases, treatment of simple diarrhea cases, referral of all complicated cases to the health facility, screening of children <5 years for malnutrition, referral of pregnant women to health facilities for ANC, provision of health sensitization. Other activities introduced within the last quarter were the treatment of minor skin infections/irritations and the distribution of Ferrous Folate to pregnant women. This report has achievements realized within June, challenges faced, and an impact story.

1.1 Project Goal

To supply free primary healthcare services to people in vulnerable communities affected by the ongoing socio-political crisis in the South-West region of Cameroon.

1.2 Project Objectives

1. To support two (2) CHWs in Kitta, Ekondo-Titi Health District to provide free primary healthcare services to those in need.
2. To perform surveillance of diseases prone to outbreaks in Kitta

 2.0 Results

2.1 Primary Healthcare Services

In July, the CHWs provided primary healthcare services to 147 vulnerable people (62 males and 85 females) in the Kitta community. The following were achieved for the month.

• Tested 41 suspected cases by RDT (23 males and 18 females)
• Treated 19 uncomplicated malaria cases (15 males, 4 females).
• Referred 18 cases of severe malaria to the health facility.
• Referred 10 pregnant women to the health facility for ANC.
• Supplied ferrous folate to 31 pregnant women.
• Tested 20 (7 males, 13 females) and treated 17 (7 male, 10 females) children for ARI.
• Supplied vitamin A and dewormed 72 (39 males, 33 females) 6– 15 months old children.

2.2 Sensitisation

During the month, the CHWs mobilized and engaged over 500 host community members in health educative talks for health promotion during home visits and community gatherings. The most attended educational talk sessions were on hand washing (560), malaria and the use of LLINs (541), proper use of latrines (531), and nutrition (501).

2.3 Nutrition

For nutrition activities, 82 children < 5 years were screened for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) using a MUAC tape and 24 caregivers were sensitized on right feeding for children <5 years. The detailed data on the primary healthcare, sensitization, and nutrition activities conducted in June are presented in Table 2 below.

3.0 STORIES

3.1 ETHAN GETS HELP THANKS TO GLOBAL GIVING

Contaminated water sources are very common in Ekondo-Titi Health District. This exposes community members to a spectrum of water-born diseases. Ethan a 6-year-old boy living in Kitta with his mother caught a fungi infection (Ringworms) on his head due to the use of unsafe water from such points for bathing. Ethan lost his father when he was 2 years old, and he is being raised single-handedly by his mother who depends sorely on her dry fish business for the survival of the family. Ethan had been experiencing severe itches on his scalp for a long time, but his mother had no money to buy topical cream for the infection, so she resulted to apply extracts from herbs on his head to remedy the condition. The CHW during his home visits noticed this and after consultation, he shaved Ethan’s hair with a new razor blade and applied a skin treatment provided to him by Reach Out for dispensation in the community. Ethan’s mom was told what to do before and after the application and recommended to follow the guidelines. She appreciates GlobalGiving and Reach Out for their continuous support provided to the Ekondo Titi Health District.

STORY OF CHANGE

Anna, a 30 years old woman living in KITTA with her family and has been suffering from rashes and itches for a week now suspected from her bathing with stream water. Before she met with the GG CHW, she has been using "Calabar-chalk" paste- a local remedy  to calm the redness and itches. The CHW during his home visits noticed this and after consultation he applied a skin ointment provided to him by ReachOut for dispensation in the community. Anna was informed on what to do before and after application and advised to follow the guidelines strictly. She appreciates GlobalGiving and Reach Out for their continuous support to the Ekondo Titi Health District.

PROJECT UPDATES

The activities of “THE REMOTE COMMUNITIES HEALTH PROMOTION PROJECT” funded by the GlobalGiving crowdfunding platform continued through the month of May. The CHWs continued with community engagement by providing primary healthcare services.

The community was engaged through planned project activities namely; treatment of simple malaria, treatment of simple diarrhea, referral of complicated cases, screening of children <5 years for malnutrition, referral of pregnant women to health facilities for ANC, provision of health sensitization. Other activities introduced within the last quarter were the treatment of minor skin infections/irritations and the distribution of Ferrous Folate to pregnant women. This report contains achievements realized within this period, challenges and an action plan for the next month.

1.2 Project Goal

To provide free primary healthcare services to people in vulnerable communities affected by the ongoing socio-political crisis in the South-West region of Cameroon.

1.3 Project Objectives

1. To support two (2) CHWs in Kitta, Ekondo-Titi Health District to provide free primary healthcare services to those in need.
2. To perform surveillance on diseases prone to outbreaks in Kitta.

2.0 RESULTS

2.1 Provision of Healthcare services to Vulnerable Persons: In the month of May, community health workers in Ekondo Titi provided primary health care services to 75 people (34 males and 41 females) of the vulnerable population in Kitta. These services included treatment of simple malaria (16 people; 7 males and 9 females), simple diarrhea (20 people: 8 males and 12 females) and simple acute respiratory tract infection (20 people: 15 males and 5 females).

2.2 Sensitization for Health promotion: The CHWs mobilized and engaged over 420 members of host communities in health educative talks for health promotion during home visits and community gatherings. The most attended educational talk sessions were on diarrhea prevention (397), nutrition (420) and waste disposal (394).

2.3 Screening of Children <5 years for Severe Acute Malnutrition: The CHWs in Ekondo-titi consulted 64 children (Figure 1) < 5 years for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) using a MUAC tape and 19 caregivers were sensitized on appropriate feeding for children <5 years.