Ethiopia

Malaria Prevention and Control 

C-Change is working with the regional governments in Ethiopia to combat the devastating effects of malaria with funding from the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). Following are descriptions of some of the activities.

 C-Change Provides SBCC Support to RTI

C-Change leads the development of communication programming for partners collaborating under PMI in Ethiopia. Based on its previous success with development of the Essential Malaria Actions (EMAs), which formed the core messages for malaria, C-Change is assisting other PMI partners to adapt materials for malaria prevention and control. 

                                                              PROTECT YOUR FAMILY AGAINST MALARIA

                       Take the following actions to cooperate for Indoor Residual Spraying

 

Incorporated into a scorecard for families, the core messages provide the visual check and confirmation that helps families keep track of the actions they must carry out to ensure successful spraying against mosquitoes. Prior to a spraying campaign, RTI dispatched community volunteers who put up posters to alert communities and encourage their support to the spraying efforts. During this time, community members and or families are also given the scorecard, which helps to reinforce key actions to be carried out by the community.  C-Change further supported the effort by providing training to RTI staff in Adama town on SBCC  to build their skills and knowledge around the communication elements of their program.  

Malaria Prevention Activities Launched in July 2010

C-Change is assisting the Oromia Regional Health Bureau (ORHB) to carry out malaria prevention activities in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. Under the established ORHB Health Extension Program, zonal and local health workers are the frontline workers carrying out social and behavior change communication (SBCC) activities to prevent and control malaria. They work with families in villages and communities under the Model Families Program.

In July 2010, C-Change launched the rapid scale-up of the Model Families Program with an SBCC training of trainers of district and zonal health professionals in West Arsi and South West Shoa districts. In turn, the health professionlas are cascading the training down and mentoring and coaching volunteer community health workers (vCHWs). See below for more detail. 

Model Families Program

The Model Families Program engages health workers who help families improve their knowledge about malaria prevention actions and assist them to carry out specific actions that will prevent malaria. These specific actions grew out of community workshops conducted by C-Change in 2009. Designated essential malaria actions (EMA), these eight actions were modified into four doable actions. The four actions are visually represented on a scorecard that each family maintains as a record. This scorecard is one of several tools that C-Change has developed as part of this malaria prevention activity.

Training Local Health Workers

C-Change is also carrying out a training of trainers for the zonal and woreda (Ethiopian administrative unit similar to a district) professionals on how to implement the Model Families Program as well as information on interpersonal communication and on partner CARE’s “community conversation” model. Using a cascading training approach, the zonal and local health officials in turn are training the health extension workers (HEWs) and volunteer community health workers (vCHWs), as well as community-based and faith-based organization staff and local school personnel.

Qualitative and quantitative studies carried out by C-Change indicated that Ethiopian community members consider HEWs and vCHWs as the most trusted and common sources of health information.

These communication activities are receiving support through radio programs and integration into other health programs such as antenatal care (ANC). In addition, school directors are initiating anti-malaria school clubs activities.

Following training, the vCHWs and HEWs visit households, using the C-Change-developed flipcharts, posters, and scorecards as they provide information on malaria prevention, treatment, and control. They assist families to carry out the four doable actions—sleep under a net and give priority to pregnant women and children under 5; seek treatment at first sign of fever; adhere to treatment and do not share medication with others; and follow guidance on not plastering after indoor residual spraying.

Malaria Protection Stickers

Families earn Malaria Protection Stickers and become Model Families when they successfully carry out the four doable actions. HEWs and vCHWs use the Malaria Protection Scorecard when they conduct house-to-house visits and community group meetings. The scorecard helps families chart their own progress and guides them step-by-step toward carrying out the four doable actions and earning the Malaria Protection Sticker.

As each doable action is carried out, the family member, and a HEW or vCHW check the appropriate box and initial that the action has indeed been carried out. When families have earned a Malaria Protection Sticker, they affix it to their front door, where it serves as a reminder to other families that this is a Model Families household. These families are encouraged to mentor three other families. Mentoring is one of the benchmarks of the Model Families Program—families and neighbors encouraging each other to succeed. The Model Families Program will last 90 days in each woreda. 

The rapid scale-up will expand to an additional 812 kebeles in the next five months with an estimated 15 million people reached by the end of 2010. C-Change continues to operate in Arsi and West Arsi and is expanding to East Wollega, Southwest Shoa, and West Shoa zones.