Kakata Health Fair 2009
December 3, 2009 1 Comment
Health promotion is an important part of improving the health of the general population. In countries with easy access to media, such as the internet, TV, radio and newspapers, promoting better health follows routine channels to reach the public though, undoubtedly, sometimes a little extra push is needed to get people to adhere to these measures, such as using a condom. In a country where access to information is extremely limited or the population has low levels of literacy, health promotion need to take new directions. In this case, in the form of a fair as part of World AIDS Day.
As with going anywhere in any part of the country, the roads from the capital city pothole apocalypse to a red dust road rollercoaster and, even though this is the dry season, we managed to drive through some overflowing rivers.
The town of Kakata is typical of many of the places I have seen travelling through Liberia – a dirty central strip market hold vendors selling almost exactly the same thing over and over: banana, plantains, kasawa, eggs and a few other select items. There are some mud huts, schools and several concrete single floor buildings that line the route to the Fair.
The Fair falls along a long length of road leading to the Town Hall. Like with any place where the flow of information is limited, Town Hall serves a central location for the local village people to find news on upcoming events such as the new yellow vaccine campaign or the Health Fair.
The Fair’s main theme surrounded improving child, maternal and community health. Stationed outside in wooden booths, about five or six main stations with overlapping themes. Some booths discuss the importance of malaria control through sleeping under a bed net and getting your house sprayed (called insecticidal residual spraying). MENTOR had a strong presence at the Fair with an extremely busy booth – probably due to a Q&A contest which rewards people who have the correct answer with shirt and a educational poster. The team that organized the booth at this Fair did a fantastic job.
There were many posters displayed at the Fair for malaria. The one below shows how important it is to sleep under a bed net. The term “Big Belly” refers to splenomegaly, a condition whereby the spleen enlarges due to infection of the malaria parasite.
MERLIN, the Ministry of Health and other organizations also attended the Fair. There were obstetrics and gynaecological attending booths, family planning and safe sex booths and better health during pregnancy.
After walking through the Fair and observing the beneficial effect it was having on the community, I headed to a second location. The Country Director of MERLIN was speaking to a large group of people about community health. She stood in front of a cramped group of children under a palm leaf cover while the speakers blasted outwards to those who could not get front row seats and had to listen to the translator instead of seeing the speaker. It appeared that about 150 people attended with a vocal minority of them being crying babies. Below is a picture of those who got a front row seat.
Here is the main speaker and the translator. The other photo shows those that came to listen to information presented. I believe that all humans are addicted to information and that those who have limited access will make efforts to find the information the will lead them to a higher quality of life.
And now, for your entertainment, some pictures of children and , yes, that kid has a pet pigeon.
And, for those who still don’t believe that I am in Liberia, here is a picture of me looking a little heavier that I did before I left Canada – mostly due to all the cheese I ate in France and all the white rice I eat here in Liberia.
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