{"id":59522,"date":"2023-07-11T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/?p=59522"},"modified":"2024-07-22T11:13:27","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T15:13:27","slug":"dedicated-father-and-school-teacher-joins-smc-campaigns-to-help-protect-children-during-rainy-season-in-northern-cameroon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/pt\/2023\/07\/dedicated-father-and-school-teacher-joins-smc-campaigns-to-help-protect-children-during-rainy-season-in-northern-cameroon\/","title":{"rendered":"SMC Campaigns Help to Protect Children During Rainy Season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This piece originally ran on impactmalaria.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a primary school teacher and father of four children, Gbohinbo Zache knows firsthand the importance of preventive efforts against malaria. \u201cI am really invested in this campaign because since it [began in our community] my children [have been] protected against malaria.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the rainy season when malaria transmission is highest and young children are most at risk, Gbohinbo has had his children participate in the local seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) campaign. Seeing the impact of preventive efforts that kept his children safe and inspired to keep other children safe, Gbohinbo became a mobilizer-distributor to support the 2021 SMC campaign and help protect other families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Gbohinbo Zache standing with SMC resources before beginning community outreach, including an informational guide to share with families during household visits. Photo credit: Cameroon team, PMI Impact Malaria <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SMC efforts are led by dedicated individuals like Gbohinbo and supported by national Ministries of Health to provide antimalarial medicines to young children in multi-day cycles over several months when the rains are heaviest. As in previous years, PMI Impact Malaria supported the Ministry of Health and national malaria control program to carry out SMC in the 47 health districts throughout Cameroon. In Northern Cameroon, Gbohinbo volunteered to join mobilizers-distributors in the Lamoudam health area, where malaria is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the region. At the beginning of the campaign, he was trained on how to educate families, manage other volunteer distributors, and proper management of the data collected.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My job is to [first] go to households to raise awareness for the adherence of the populations to the campaign… using a sheet for the counting of the target and a chalk for the marking of the households visited. After the mobilization [of households], we move on to the administration of the [antimalarial medicine]. During the administration [in each household], I ask the parents and guardians of children to administer in front of me the first dose and I remind them not to forget the administration of the preventive medicine on the second and third day.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gbohinbo enjoys being a leader in his community to remind others of the lifesaving importance of preventing malaria. \u201cIt is an opportunity for me to raise awareness and help other members of my community protect their children. Thanks to my position as a teacher, I am known in my community and this facilitates my work and the support of the populations to the campaign.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the 2021 campaign, he was one of 10,408 mobilizers-distributors in the North and Far North regions of Cameroon to helped protect 1,943,534 children aged 3 months to 59 months against malaria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PMI Impact Malaria is funded and technically assisted by the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and is led by Population Services International (PSI)<\/a> in partnership with Jhpiego<\/a>, MCD Global Health<\/a>, and the Malaria Elimination Initiative (MEI)<\/a> at the University of California, San Francisco.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n