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Albert Kalonji, MD, PMURR Project Coordinator, SANRU III Basic Rural Health Projct, Ave. de la Justice, Kinshasa-Gombe, Congo-Kinshasa, 24398339339, albertkalonji@sanru.org, Ian Moise, Consultant to the Environmental Health Project, 1624 McKinley Ct, Eugene, OR 97402, Felix Minuku, MD, MPH, Technical Coordination, SANRU III Basic Rural Health Project, Ave. de la Justice, Kinshasa-Gombe, Congo-Kinshasa, and Leon Ngoma M. Kintaudi, MD, MPH, Medical Office, Protestant Church of Congo, Ave. de la Justice, Kinshasa-Gombe, Congo-Kinshasa.
The SANRU Basic Rural Health Project I/II (1981-1991) found that water and sanitation could (and should) be an important entry point for developing a decentralized primary health care system. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, SANRU trained and supported nearly 100 Water and Sanitation coordinators for DR Congo’s 306 decentralized health zones.
The SANRU III project (2001-2006) now faces the challenge of revitalizing and expanding this existing network of water and sanitation coordinators. The project also appreciates the need to increase program emphasis on hygiene improvements, behavior change communications and community-based IMCI.
During the past two years, in collaboration with the Environmental Health Project, SANRU III has implemented the following activities to promote hygiene improvements:
1) Conducted formative research to identify key high-risk hygiene behaviors and developed key behavior change communication messages and materials for hygiene improvement.
2) Developed, in collaboration with the MOH and other partners, a flexible framework and message delivery system for C-IMCI that includes hygiene improvements.
3) Established and tested a system of existing, motivated volunteers to serve as institutional and community “relays” for C-IMCI messages in ten pilot health zones.
4) Conducted baseline and year later surveys to measure changes in knowledge, practice and coverage (KPC).
This presentation will report on the lessons learned, challenges encountered and the KPC survey results from these project activities.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the presentation participants will be able to
Related Web page: sanru.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.