How to Work with Children to Develop Action Plans to Tackle Malaria
This is and extract from our toolkit for educators co-created by teachers and children in Mozambique. See below for links to download the Toolkit in English and Portuguese.
The Aim of this Topic
To make sure that all the children in our community know that mosquitoes spread malaria and using bed nets is important to prevent mosquitoes biting, especially for children under 5 and pregnant women but for others too. Once the Malaria Vaccine is available in your area you would adjust your activities to include getting babies and young children vaccinated too.
Four Steps
- Teachers use or adapt and then teach messages and activities to help children understand the topic.
- Children find out more about the topic in their families and with their friends.
- Children plan and take action in their families and community.
- Children report on results and reflect on how to make it better!
Teach and Understand
Three Messages
- Malaria is a disease spread by the bite of an infected mosquito.
- Malaria is dangerous. It causes fever and can kill, especially children and pregnant women.
- Prevent malaria by sleeping under long lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLIN) that kill mosquitoes and stop them biting.
- A vaccine against malaria is coming! It may be available in our area. Let’s find out!
Activities
- Draw a bed net over a bed or mattress. Add a baby and/or a pregnant woman on the bed (stick drawings are fine!).
- Talk about how LLIN’s work (they keep mosquitoes always form biting the skin which they do mostly at night (between 10pm and 0200) and nets also kill the mosquitos on contact)
- Discuss, how to take of our bed net’ and make a list next to the picture. Checking for holes, finding out if the net is a long-lasting net (4-5 years) or one that needs to be re-dipped in insecticide every 60-12 months.
- If the malaria vaccine is available in the area, discuss how to make sure babies and young children are getting the vaccines and what is the vaccine schedule.
Also use storytelling and drama to understand hygiene habits in the family and community!
Three questions to find out more from friends and family
- In what seasons are mosquitoes around in our community (sometimes this is all the time, sometimes it is seasonable)?
- What happens to someone who has Malaria?
- How do we prevent or treat Malaria in our community?
- Is the malaria vaccine available in our community?
Plan and take three types of action
These are examples only – let the children come up with their own ideas! (These will go in the text boxes.)
My own actions
- I can check when we have malaria in our community (all the time or from time to time? What months?)
- I can check if we use an LLIN in our home
- I can talk to people in my family about why we need LLINs
- I can check if the LLIN is new or old and if we need it replacing or re-dipping in insecticide (it is old after 3-4 years)
My actions for others
- I learn and share 10 malaria messages to others
- I can find out if there are LLINs in our home
Our actions for others
- We make a song and dance and perform it in the community about the need for using LLINs to prevent malaria.
Reflection and Results
Questions to help children reflect
- How did our actions prevent malaria?
- Do our family and friends know the messages?
- Are people using LLIN’s properly?
- What more can we do?
Examples of Results
- Other children and families in our community know why it’s important to use LLIN’s.
- More people use LLIN’s especially babies, young children and pregnant women.
Tell the education and health officials about these results!
Other Helpful Resources
- Malaria from Children for Heath
- Malaria Messages in Many Languages
- Malaria Poster
