The project Financed with OPM funds of the Waldensian Church “The last mile: eliminate malaria in Senegal by 2030” has ended.
The project aimed to achieve three macro-objectives: a) reduce malaria mortality, especially among children under 5 years of age and pregnant women; b) activate the self-organization of the social fabric to create autonomous responses; c) stimulate and sensitize the communities involved in the adoption of new styles of hygiene-personal and environmental behavior.
With these ambitious assumptions and in order to achieve this goal, we have introduced various types of actions (education, communication, training, information and sport), which have affected very large and among the most vulnerable layers of the social structure, namely children and their families and young people, both in Senegal and in Italy.
The actions were:
Action 1- Training of a network of Health Promoters
a series of meetings was launched aimed at training Local Health Promoters, with the aim of giving them the skills and tools to inform the population on the topic of Malaria, its risks and ways to counter it.
Action 2 – Sensitization:
A) Education of children
Thanks to the Health promoters and volunteers of the Association, numerous meetings were held in the schools of Pikine and in rural areas to raise awareness about 1500 young people also through the use of games, educational material and meetings frontal;
B) Forum theater
An important tool for involving the participants was that of theater. In fact, a theater company animated all the meetings, staging shows that told the malaria problem and at the same time instructed the public on risks and prevention methods;
C) Sensitization of adults and distribution of mosquito nets;
at the same time as the training meetings, about a thousand mosquito nets (to date still the most effective method of prevention) were distributed to all those who participated in the awareness courses
D) Village cleaning and remediation activities
In addition to school meetings, public meetings and theatrical performances, each day of activities has seen numerous remediation and cleaning initiatives in the villages or neighborhoods involved. thanks to the purchase of the necessary materials, it was possible to train the inhabitants by involving them personally in the cleaning activities.
Action 3 – Dissemination and communication activities:
A) Brochures, information leaflets and stickers;
The materials printed for the campaign were varied and numerous. From school brochures to brochures and vademecums distributed to all participating families.
B) Soccer tournament
Sport has proved to be an excellent channel to stimulate the participation of young people and at the same time to create moments of awareness open to the whole territory. a football tournament was held involving teams from numerous villages in the rural area concerned.
For more info: www.stopmalaria.it
