Kojina is a small village of 360 people located about 2 km from the village of Humjibre, where GHEI is based. Before expanding our malaria program to Kojina, we first met with the village chief, Nana Adomakwahene, to present the idea and receive his permission. He understands the problems associated with malaria, so he welcomed the idea that we would provide bednets and help the people of Kojina protect themselves from mosquito bites. We then selected and trained two residents of Kojina to serve as Community Health Workers (CHWs) to distribute the nets and to educate the people of Kojina about bednets and malaria prevention.
In January, a baseline survey of Kojina’s 43 households was conducted by two health program staff and four Community Health Workers certified in Data Collection. The survey included questions about the number of bednets (if any) a household owned, the condition of these nets, knowledge of proper bednet usage, and questions to determine the number of sleeping sites in each household.
Some statistics on the population of Kojina from our data collection (before the distribution):
• 19% of children under age five sleep under a bednet
• 15% of the population sleep under a bednet
• 0 % of pregnant women sleep under a bednet
• 40% of households have at least one net in any condition
• 48% of children age 0-4 years had a fever in the last two weeks
After we completed the baseline survey in Kojina, we held a Malaria Outreach Event at the end of January to teach the community about malaria and bednet usage and inform them of our upcoming distribution. Nearly one third of the community—around 50 children and 60 adults—attended the outreach, which featured a showing of the GHEI-produced film United Against Malaria, a short drama encouraging people to seek medical help for malaria symptoms and to sleep under bednets. The film was directed and produced by film-maker Laconia Koerner in February 2010 and features GHEI's team of Community Health Workers.
Thanks to a generous bednet donation from our partner Against Malaria Foundation, GHEI CHWs from Humjibre and Kojina hung 158 bednets in 44 homes in Kojina. Some days we started distribution in the early morning, and some days we went in the late afternoon to have a better chance of meeting people in their homes. We worked in teams of 3-4 CHWs going door-to-door to ensure that every household received bednets and flipchart education. At each house, two CHWs sought permission to enter the sleeping areas to begin hanging the bednets using the method most appropriate for that room and the number of sleeping sites. A third CHW met with the residents of the household and gave the flipchart education on bednet usage and care. After the bednets were hung and everyone viewed the flipchart, the CHWs demonstrated how to rehang and properly use the bednet.
With the distribution now complete, the two Kojina CHWs will begin follow up visits with every household in Kojina. During these visits, CHWs will help rehang bednets, mend bednets, and provide ongoing malaria education. Through continued education and assistance, we aim for universal usage in all the communities we support through bednet distribution and follow up visits.
For more information on GHEI’s Malaria Prevention Program, click here.
Stay tuned for slideshows and videos from the Kojina Bednet Distribution!
--GHEI Health Program Coordinator, Carly Edwards
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