Good morning colleagues. I wish to use this opportunity on behalf of the Health Promotion Unit and Regional Health Directorate to thank you for the various SBCC activities that you have been carrying out in our communities on CSM education and others. It is always a refreshing day in and day out to see to hear of SBCC activities carried out to improve the health of our people. Kudos to you all especially those in the inner communities.
We are doing a lot together but we need to intensify our campaign against CSM in our region as the number of cases as well as deaths are increasing. We are pleading with you if you can kindly add the following key messages to what we have been doing in terms of public health education.
- Let us endeavor to educate the school teachers to suggest to children to always drink more water 💦 when they are at school and at home. Children should bring water 💦 on their own when coming to school. Where the school can provide water 🌊💦, they should make it available for the children.
- Children should be educated to get Shea butter or Vaseline pomade to moisturize the body as well as the nostrils and lips during this time of the year as the weather ☁️ is becoming more warmer leading to crack lips and nostrils. They can always use the Shea butter and Vaseline to oil in and out of the nostrils to keep them moisturized to prevent cracks which provides a fertile place for CSM to strike.
- They should use face masks to prevent the spread of diseases especially as the dry and warm weather promotes the cracking of lips 👄 nostrils. Adults are equally encouraged to use nose mask when moving out of the house and traveling particularly those of us riding bicycles and motorcycles as well as those traveling in buses and cars.
- Tell the teachers to limit the children for outdoor activities such as playing football, ampe, running around and others especially the second break when the weather is extremely warm and hot 🔥. They should endeavor not to be crowded.
- Tell children to report to the nearest health center when they experience the signs and symptoms of CSM such as stiff neck, severe 🗣️, cough 😷, sneezing 🤧, high body temperature 🤒, confusion, and body pains. They should not wait when they experience the following signs and symptoms. The above signs and symptoms mimic like Malaria 🦟, typhoid fever, COVID 19.
- They should always practice hand washing at all critical times.
- Let us encourage parents to critically observe their children as some of them will complain of headaches and body pains. They’ observed that after two or more days, they should send them to the health center for treatment.
- They should avoid self medication of children when they observe the signs and symptoms explained above.
Yirimambo Advocacy Group Upper West 