Most volunteers in Benin are placed in
small villages to mid-sized cities, where we get to know our
communities and work with them to assess and develop upon their
needs. While all of us pass through Cotonou, some on a more regular
basis than others, we rarely encounter urban poverty. This year, in
honor of world malaria month (which we are celebrating from April
1-May 15 here in Benin), the Peace Corps and it's Benin Against
Malaria Committee (on which I am an officer) partnered up with the
community health center in Ladji named La Vie Nouvelle (the new life)
to address malaria in the community.
![]() |
Mathias going out to survey the community on their bed net needs. Walkways are packed down trash on this landfill island. |
Ladji is a large village, with a
population of over 10,000, built on the shores and on Lake Nokohe.
If you google Benin, you will likely pull up an image of houses on
stilts, hovering over the water. This is one of those communities.
Located about 20 minutes from the heart of Cotonou, this area is home
to Cotonou's most impoverished: fisherman, farmers and small scale
entreprenuers. This mini-city starts where the paved road ends, and
much of it is built up on piles of trash, making it a man-made
landfill island. While there are many other hygiene and sanitation
issues that we could focus on, our project focused on malaria,
behavior change and insecticide-treated net use.
On
April 25th, 2016, in commemoration of World Malaria Day,
we launched our week-long campaign to reduce the burden of malaria in
Ladji. After a week of insane logistics: think distributing nets to
over 1400 households, some of which are only accessible by boat,
local leaders, including representatives from the Ministry of Health
and military forces, kicked off a special ceremony and acknowledged
the absolute necessity to address the issue of malaria in the
community. Traditional stilt dancers and a local singer performed,
also urging the community to mobilize in the fight against malaria.
![]() |
Surveying using the CommCare Application! |
You
may think handing out nets is easy, but the Peace Corps has developed
a strict protocol to control the number of nets distributed based on
the family's needs and conduct follow up on proper net installation.
After one day of training, which included malaria behavior change
communication and instruction on the Peace Corps developed CommCare
application for Bed Net Distributions, teams of local volunteers and
PCVs dispersed into the community to conduct a bed net needs
assessment. Walking house to house, or using boats to reach houses
on the lake, the teams surveyed 1478 households, representing a total
population of 9681 people. The application prompts surveyors to
input the number of people living in the house (including children
and domestic help) and the number of nets in good condition. Using
the application to store household data and calculate the total need
for mosquito nets in the community, based on the rule of 2 people per
net, volunteers prepared to distribute 3422 nets over the course of
two days.
Spread
across five different distribution sites, PCVs and their partners
from La Vie Nouvelle conducted 40 malaria behavior change
communication sessions for 1331 people, including 147 pregnant women. We hit some challenges when a huge rain storm rolled in, turning the dirt roads to impassable mud puddles, but people were motivated to receive their nets and attend the educational assemblies. These sessions covered the importance of sleeping under a mosquito net, discussed the myths of malaria transmission and counseled on proper net maintenance and repair for long term malaria prevention. Using the android application, community members signed for their nets and PCVs were able to monitor the number of nets distributed in real time. This was the first time that the application, built by Benin PCVs, was used in a large scale bed net distribution, and we couldn't have done it without it!! It was an invaluable tool for coordinating the distribution of nets and tracking community participation.
Recipients sign for their nets after receiving a lesson on malaria prevention! |
In
one month, a team of volunteers will return to Ladji to conduct
follow-up on the distributed nets, collecting data on who is using
them and whether they are properly installed. As the coordinator for
this initiative, it was the first time I had the opportunity to
coordinate a large scale project, training and mobilize a group of
volunteers. It was a great experience in problem solving, patience
and the end result was knowing that many people are now protected
against malaria. On the last day, I also had the opportunity to sit
down with a journalist from BB24, the Beninese National TV station,
for a 52 minute segment on malaria in Benin. I'm still waiting on
the video, but it aired that night nationwide! I guess that makes me
TV famous!
The happy recipient of a new bed net and the Director of La Vie Nouvelle |
As
World Malaria Month comes to a close, it's important to recognize our
commitment to the fight against malaria. Volunteers distribute bed
nets, conduct malaria behavior communication change in their local
villages, and share the message of malaria prevention on the radio to
be broadcast locally and on buses that cross the country everyday.
The success of the distribution in Ladji showed us that, as a team,
we can contribute to the progress made under the Millennium
Development Goals and build on it to “End Malaria For Good.”
Impressive work.💖
ReplyDeletesure win online casino & jackpot - VNOPBET fun88 fun88 1xbet korean 1xbet korean 1335Online Video Poker Sites In Australia - ChoEcasino
ReplyDelete