K Cashin Preventing anemia in Girls Guid

Girl Guides: Prevention of Anemia in East & Southern Africa : 

1 Girl Guides: Prevention of Anemia in East & Southern Africa Kristen Cashin MCHN Specialist The FANTA Project September 12, 2006

Girl Guides Africa RegionAnemia Prevention Badge Program : 

2 Girl Guides Africa RegionAnemia Prevention Badge Program Girl Guides ages 7-18 Rwanda, Swaziland, and Uganda Requested by USAID/EA

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Anemia Prevention Badge : 

4 Anemia Prevention Badge Knowledge of anemia, its causes, consequences and methods of prevention Practical activities for anemia prevention Community outreach for anemia prevention

Anemia PrevalenceWomen Ages 15-49 : 

5 Anemia PrevalenceWomen Ages 15-49 Rwanda: 43% (UNICEF) Swaziland: 32% (UNICEF) Uganda: 37% (DHS)

Why Adolescents? (1) : 

6 Why Adolescents? (1) 1.2 billion adolescents (10-19 years) in developing countries Second most critical period of growth in the life cycle 45% of adolescent girls and 57% of adolescent boys in Africa are anemic Anemia and iron deficiency are considered the most prevalent nutritional problems among adolescents in developing countries

Why Adolescents? (2) : 

7 Why Adolescents? (2) Anemia in adolescents is associated with: Impaired cognitive ability Lower school achievement Lowered ability to do physical work

Why Adolescents? (3) : 

8 Why Adolescents? (3) Worldwide, 25% of women have their first child before age 20

Why Adolescents? (4) : 

9 Why Adolescents? (4) Unique opportunity to intervene to establish healthy practices for adulthood Open to behavior change/trying new things Want to begin making their own decisions Healthy behaviors formed at this age likely to be carried into adulthood

Challenges of Working with Adolescents : 

10 Challenges of Working with Adolescents Adolescent girls are hard to reach with health and nutrition messages Few health contacts in adolescence Few nutrition projects have worked with adolescents - limited experience working with adolescent girls in nutrition

Partners : 

11 Partners World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, Africa Region (WAGGGS) Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA) Regional Center for Quality of Health Care (RCQHC)

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) : 

12 The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) Mission: “to enable girls and young women to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world.” Developing life skills, leadership and decision-making skills 10 million Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 144 countries 500,000 Guides in 30 countries in Africa

WAGGGS – Africa Region : 

13 WAGGGS – Africa Region Projects have included: Literacy HIV/AIDS prevention Peace-building Prevention of violence against women Nutrition Peer education Have partnered with UNICEF and NGOs

The Anemia Prevention Badge : 

14 The Anemia Prevention Badge Girl Guides will earn the badge by: Demonstrating basic knowledge of anemia, its causes, consequences and methods of prevention Completing practical exercises for anemia prevention Completing Community Outreach activities Age-appropriate activities for Brownies, Junior Guides, and Rangers

How Does it Work? : 

15 How Does it Work? Program covers: prevention and control through diet, control of malaria, control of hookworm, and iron folic acid supplementation Girl Guides learn about anemia in patrols of 6-8 girls Girl Guides complete activities as individuals and with their patrols Supporting materials: Leader’s Manual, Badge Award Handbook, Anemia Prevention Workbook

Girl Guide Leader’s Manual : 

16 Girl Guide Leader’s Manual General Nutrition Anemia: What is it? Who Gets it? Why? How to Prevent Anemia Eating Well to Prevent Anemia Preventing & Treating Hookworm Preventing & Treating Malaria Iron Folic Acid Supplementation

Badge Award Handbook : 

17 Badge Award Handbook Contains requirements for Girl Guides to earn badge Broken down by age group: Brownies (7-10) Junior Guides (11-14) Rangers (15-18)

Workbook : 

18 Workbook To be developed based on pre-test Contains worksheets for all knowledge activities Contains worksheets and forms for all practical and community activities

Knowledge Requirements : 

19 Knowledge Requirements Identify: Signs of anemia Causes of anemia Ways to prevent and/or control anemia Locally available iron-rich foods Locally available vitamin-C rich foods Consequences of anemia for adolescents, women and babies

Practical Activities : 

20 Practical Activities Keeping a dietary record Visits to the Market Planning meals for a picnic or camping trip Planning activities to prevent malaria and hookworm Visits to health facility and baby center Creating an iron-rich cookbook

Community Outreach Activities : 

21 Community Outreach Activities Performances: poems, songs, plays, skits Posters: placed in the community Science classes at school Outreach to other girls Volunteer at ANC clinic Design IFA reminder cards for pregnant women

Monitoring : 

22 Monitoring Activities that the girls complete will be monitored using the WAGGGS reporting structure Patrol leader Guide leader District Commissioner National Commissioner Regional Executive WAGGGS HQ (London) Number of badges awarded per district will be tracked

Project Status : 

23 Project Status Guide Leader Training Manual, Badge Award Book, and Handouts/Workbook pre-tested in Kampala, Uganda, 8/2006 Revisions underway First Training: Uganda, November 2006

Next Steps : 

24 Next Steps Expand to additional districts in each country Expand to other Girl Guide countries in Africa WAGGGS HQ: interested in dissemination WAGGGS worldwide membership: 10 million Girl Guides in 145 countries

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26 This presentation is made possible by the generous support of the American people though the support of the Office of Health, Infectious Disease, and Nutrition, Bureau for Global Health, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under terms of Cooperative Agreement No. HRN-A-00-98-00046-00, through the FANTA Project, operated by the Academy for Educational Development (AED). The contents are the responsibility of the FANTA Project and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.