Funded by SIM-Ethiopia and PADD
This program focussed on improving Mother and Child Health by applying proven training methods and methodologies designed to bring positive behavioral change to Afar.
A proven teaching method augmented with Afar’s socio-cultural specific contextualized MCH promotional manual with full pictorial illustrations was utilized to promote Maternal and Child health. Communities of Dulessa and Argoba district, health care providers, teachers and Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) school-clubs were targeted with the project. Schoolteachers, SRH school-clubs, community level promoters and health care providers received separate tailor made capacity building trainings on MCH. The training covered topics on Antenatal Care, Postnatal Care and Institutional Delivery.
The promoters easily captured the lessons and were able to cascade MCH messages to their respective communities, as the lessons were conveyed with the help of visual teaching aids. The promoters were assigned to educate Community Conversation (CC) group members with a series of monthly session. To complement CC session theatrical health campaigns were also organized in different kebeles of the two districts.
As a result of the CC group, pregnant women who participated in the CC groups are following their prenatal care at the nearest health centers, followed safe institutional delivery, and those lactating mothers immunized their children. From the review meetings we had with government stakeholders form both woredas, we realized that MCH education brought great behavioral change on members of the CC groups and on the community at large. Evidently pregnant and lactating women started visiting the woreda health centers and it is becoming as one of their culture. After the HEAL project intervention the Afar communities are requesting the woreda health office for vaccination of the children. In old days they have refused a vaccination assuming that will have a negative impact in their future of child life.