Community Health Clubs in Africa

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Community Health Clubs (CHCs) also known as Community Hygiene Clubs are voluntary community based organisations dedicated to improving health through the promotion of hygiene. CHCs are formed at village level and have no po The concept was developed by Dr Juliet Waterkeyn, Africa AHEAD.

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Background

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The idea of CHCs was first developed in Kenya where Dr Juliet Waterkeyn spent a lot of time developing illustrations for training materials for the Kenya Water for Health Organisation (KWAHO) and spent a significant amount of time observing the living conditions and habits of rural communities. After observing the practices of women in rural households, it became evident that a lack of ownership was the cause for slow community development. The concept of CHC was developed to gather communities and communally discuss hygiene and improving the health of children .

Overview / explanations / current practice

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Community Health Workers (CHW) as well as Environmental Health Technicians (EHT) are often used to help run the clubs. They receive a 1 week training about the organisation of the Community Health Clubs and are given the training materials and taught how to use it .

There are two types of CHCs, Classic and Lite. The difference between the two is based on the length of the training of the CHWs as well as the number of dialogue sessions that they have been trained in.

CHCs attract an average of 75 members, which includes an elected six member committee, a chairperson, a secretary and a Community Health Worker (CHW) facilitator, who is responsible for leading the dialogue sessions and motivating the club members to adopt better hygiene practices . The Classic CHCs have a training session of 6 months where the club meets weekly to discuss one of the 20 - 24 dialogue sessions on health and hygiene. Lite CHCs have a training session of 3 months and discuss a total of 8 dialogue sessions concentrating only on WASH topics . After each session members are given homework and are encouraged to complete it before the next session. Each member is given a membership card when they join the club and the CHW is responsible for signing off the dialogue sessions attended by each member . A certificate of completion is awarded to club members that complete all dialogue sessions during the graduation ceremony .

Health Aspects

There are four main stages that have been identified that CHCs go through :

Stage 1: Health Promotion

This stage is the entry point, where members meet weekly for a two-hour session at a venue of choice. During these sessions visual aid cards are used to engage members in discussions and debates on topics encouraging health and hygiene promotion. Various participatory activities take place that entertain and encourage members to get involved in the decision making process on improving daily hygiene habits. Additionally, it is recommended that each week members make small changes in their own homes before the next meeting. These recommended practices rarely require financial expenditure and are solely habit changing .

Stage 2: Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation

Once club members begin to understand the transmission of germs, effort is made to protect oneself. When a majority of the members become convinced, it is through positive peer pressure that makes sanitation a priority and club members help each other with meeting their new hygiene standards. Latrines and wells are dug, hand washing facilities are build without any support from outside funds. The maintenance of water facilities is the responsibility of the CHC committee, who are in charge for the use and sustainability of the WASH facilities in the village .

Stage 3: Food Agriculture and Nutrition (FAN)

Members then shift their focus on child survival and a balanced diet after all high-risk habits have been replaced by safe hygiene practices and when basic safe water and sanitation facilities available. As a result communal nutrition gardens are started by CHC members where produce is organised to maintain a balanced diet all year round. Additionally these gardens also help to support vulnerable families in the community .

Stage 4: Empowerment of Women

The importance of the CHC meetings can result into the construction of permanent meeting shelter, which can also be used for play school for toddlers. Other clubs start income generating projects such as soap making, whilst others create saving and loan schemes and so enable members to buy the necessary products needed to keep maintain hygiene standards. As most CHCs have more female members (citation needed), the clubs themselves end up becoming a safetly net for mothers .

History

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Society and culture

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Examples

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External links

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