Bubaque is the commercial hub of an otherwise isolated island community. With a population of approximately 7,000 people, the sensitization campaign was organized through informal djumbai sessions – community dialogues – under mango trees, that are in full bloom during this season. The 17 discussions that brought together 18 different communities, aimed at strengthening vigilance, and mobilising island populations through their traditional and spiritual leaders.
Understanding the importance of the djumbai, some participants travelled up to five kilometres from their villages by foot to attend. Participants ranged from traditional healers and chiefs to women’s associations. UNICEF has in the past created strategic partnerships with traditional leaders and healers to promote preparedness to disease, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In the context of Guinea-Bissau, these groups and individuals are deeply trusted and authoritative over the communities that they govern and make part of. They are crucial in promoting preventive behaviours like hand washing, postponing funerary ceremonies and avoiding contact with corpses, and seeking health services for treatment should any symptoms be identified.
André Gomes Obango is a traditional healer who receives many visits from ailed members of his community so that they can be healed. He admits, though, that Ebola is a disease that he is unable to treat. “Only the big hospitals can treat this disease,” he says. From the sessions, he has learned how best to avoid the virus, and confirms that plastic jerrycans, soap and bleach have been made available in his village so that they are equipped to effectively combat it. He also tells the sensibilisation team, made up of staff from INASA, NGOs Nadel and Palmeirinha, the Secretary of State of Social Communication and UNICEF own Communication for Development team, that he makes sure that anyone seeking his services first makes a visit to the hospital, to prevent any potential infection.
Source link : https://www.unicef.org/guineabissau/stories/working-together-stop-spread-ebola
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Publish date : 2021-07-20 07:00:00
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