AEGiS-IFRC: Volunteers Visit Villages for Child Health Survey in Senegal

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Volunteers Visit Villages for Child Health Survey in Senegal

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - March 27, 2007
Ilkka Pohjalainen in Dakar

The National Society of the Senegalese Red Cross has some 2700 volunteers. Now a hundred of them have been trained and sent to the villages in the areas of Thies and Bour, two hours drive from the capital Dakar. They are involved in a child health survey project called "Child Diseases and Prevention" focusing on children under the age of five and their mothers. The programme is supported by the Hellenic Red Cross and co-funded by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It reflects the approach of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as a community-based health project integrated to the local health system. The survey will reach a total of 200 children.

Volunteers were trained for two weeks on how to fill up a health questionnaire. Then, they were sent to the villages to meet the mothers. "In general, mothers there face many problems starting from the delivery, as mothers may give birth under open sky, even on the road", explains Yanv Pove, a mother of three children living in the village of Pout.

Each mother is asked to answer about 70 questions starting from the name, sex and age of the child. They also provide answers on the use of mosquito nets, nutrition, illnesses and vaccinations. The mothers willingly show the vaccination booklets of the children for cross-checking, updating and to make sure not to forget the dates.

When you visit the village, you might think that all children are happy since you can see them cheering and playing football. But the reality is a bit different. The mothers explain that children are also affected with health problems like malaria, skin and eye infections and diarrhea. Although a hospital might be only a few kilometers away, transport on the sand tracks can create problems.

Dr. Cheikh Saad-Bou Sarr, Head of the health department, is also the project coordinator at Senegalese Red Cross. He believes the project can help improve the lives of many children in the area.

The cooperation between the Senegalese and Hellenic Red Cross National Societies is based on a "memorandum of understanding". Apart from the child health programme, both societies have also launched an HIV/AIDS project in the areas of Kaolack and Kolda. "Activities include community-based prevention of HIV and AIDS as well as psychological and moral support for people living with HIV and orphans," explains Georgios Mitsios, representative of Hellenic Red Cross for Western and Central Africa. Some 40 trained volunteers will be involved in the field for this project alone.

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