Senegal: programs & priorities

ChildFund Australia's affiliate organisation in Senegal has been working in the country since 1985 and assists around 1.8 million children and their family members.

In addition to basic health, nutrition, sanitation, micro enterprise, education and early childhood development programs, ChildFund in Senegal has launched several innovative health initiatives. The Community Action for Nutrition and Health (CANAH) program focuses on the health of Senegalese children from birth to five years of age and women of reproductive age.

In Senegal, the older women, known as grannies, act as decision-makers for the younger women where family and maternal health issues are concerned. ChildFund in Senegal knew that in order for CANAH to make the most impact, the older women needed to be educated in order to reach the women of reproductive age.

ChildFund in Senegal developed a health education strategy that used educational stories and songs during community gatherings attended by groups of grandmothers. By enhancing the grandmothers' understanding of the importance of maternal health, ChildFund in Senegal is able to educate the younger women of child bearing age.
ChildFund in Senegal is also offering alternative education programs in Casamance for children who have not completed their primary education because of conflict in that area. This includes peace education and awareness program, incorporating micro-enterprise development, psychosocial interventions and teacher training.

Development in progress

In an effort to bring basic healthcare to rural communities, ChildFund in Senegal has established health huts, which serve communities in remote, inaccessible areas that do not have reliable means of transportation to government hospitals located in cities. The health huts has been a successful tool in educating the community and addressing health issues in collaboration with local health staff.

Over 1,000 health workers and birth attendants have been trained so that mothers and children can access a wide array of health services right in their community. These range from treatment of malaria, of respiratory illnesses and wounds to preventive services such as growth monitoring and disease prevention.

ChildFund in Senegal also encourage nurses from the nearby towns to pay monthly visits to each health hut and offer services such as immunisation, prenatal and postnatal consultations, and other services the volunteer community health workers are not trained to provide.