Training
From the village groups we identified, the Community Council selected named, motivated individuals to be trained as HCW's. Members of the Council, they have organisational skills and most are literate. They have already helped identify the most important health issues.
The initial stages of the projects involves research of the communities beliefs regarding disease transmission and health. Behaviour change is difficult, and it is only practical to focus on the most risky practices that can break the chain of disease, and vector transmission.
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Training session
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vaccination camp
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Clean water and faeces disposal are the central themes of the HCW's work in the public health initiatives. Hand washing, fly control and food hygiene are also important. Through environmental walks, checklist observation and structural observation risks are identified. Local HCW's inevitably makes this easier than outsiders.
The next step is to devise motivational plans to change behaviour. People are found to favour faecal cleanliness because this leads to a clean yard, not that it may remove the vector of disease. Removing smells also is a major motivator to dispose of faeces. Use of focus group discussions help to discuss subjects in greater depth.
We help to facilitate the resourcing for the training of these HCW's as well as training them to use simple medications in situations where speed of treatment is vital. The fitting child with cerebral malaria needs urgent attention and travel to the towns by canoe usually results in death. Trained HCW's can save lives. We produce simple algorithmic protocols to treat the major infectious diseases and both supply the medications and training of the HCW's with our local doctor overseeing training on a regular basis, to test and update skills.
Training camps are held regularly and support is given for more specialist training in community ophthamology and it is planned to add mental health and community primary care training in centres run by partner NGO's to broaden experience. Literacy courses are also supported.
The unrest in the Delta makes travel on the rivers dangerous and unpredictable.Using local HCW's makes replication of these health projects to more remote areas of the interior possible by family and tribal connections between village communities.
New Foundations supports one HCW for each satellite village group serving up to 10,000 people, providing a stipend, equipped bag and regular mentoring and
ongoing training. The massive unemployment in the Delta means there is strong motivation to both become a HCW and remain motivated. Feedback on their performance is both from the community and from appraisal.
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Whether traveller, rural worker , health care worker, or community member we strongly recommend this book ,arguably the class leader in its field, and this version is specifically written for African readers.
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