World Malaria Day: how Christian Aid Nigeria is improving community response against malaria
From Christian Aid Nigeria @CAID_Nigeria
The Improving Community Response Against Malaria (ICRAM) project is a two-year project funded by Christian Aid and J.C Flowers Foundation.
What we did
During the lifetime of the project, 15,000 mosquito nets were distributed in 10 communities in Kajuru local government area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Community health agents were established in the 10 communities to educate community members on malaria prevention and treatment using a manual developed by Christian Aid Nigeria.
The community health agents also conducted house-to-house visits to educate families on the importance of using mosquito nets and to demonstrate proper hanging of nets.
Project results
Through the efforts of the health agents:
- Net use increased by 92% in the project communities.
- Visits to health facilities at the onset of fever increased to 89.7%.
Lobbying for health services
To improve response against malaria in project communities, community development committees were established to advocate for the health needs of members of their communities at local government and state level.
The community development committees also ensured that the health facilities at their communities were fully functional. In communities where there were no health facilities, members of the committees paid advocacy visits to the local government to either get their health facility completed or plan for the construction of a health facility.
The future
The gains of the project will outlive the project lifespan, because of the community structures set up during the project implementation and the improved relationships and involvement of the local government.
