Community Health Educators Program: Achievements

The Community Health Educators have reached a number of important goals in different sectors since beginning their work.

1) Home-based Health Care and First Aid

Community Health Educators visit households on a daily basis to provide health information, dispense basic medications and administer first aid as needed within their communities.

Since July 2009 Community Health Educators have:

  • Visited 1,582 households in 10 different villages
  • Administered first aid to 3,118 individuals
  • Referred 694 patients to the FIMRC clinic
  • Seen 349 patients under the age of five

2) Community Outreaches

Twice a month, all Community Health Educators travel to a village in or near Bumwalukani to do mass health education on a specific topic.

Since July, 2009 Community Health Educators have:

  • Conducted 15 community outreaches in 8 different villages (Bukiriwe, Bunakasala, Bunamulembwa, Busamo West, Busiriwa, Busongi, Mataya, and Shikholo)
  • Taught topics including environmental conservation, family planning, nutrition, sanitation, and breastfeeding
  • Reached 353 households during outreaches

3) Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing

Once a week, Project Bumwalukani holds free HIV counseling and testing sessions for any individual who wishes to be tested. All HIV-positive patients within the catchment area are assigned a Community Health Educator who visit the patient at home to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment and provide ongoing health education and psychosocial support.

In 2009, Project Bumwalukani:

  • Tested 1,680 patients have been tested for HIV, with 262 HIV positive patients (prevalence rate of 15.6% - over double the national average)
  • Assigned 176 newly-diagnosed HIV-positive patients to a Community Health Educator for follow-up; additional patients have been referred to health centers within closer proximity to their homes for monitoring and ongoing counseling
  • Arranged for Community Health Educators to visit 152 HIV-positive clients at home

4) Community Health Groups

Project Bumwalukani’s outreach program operates eight community health groups that meet once a week to discuss different health topics.

Since their training in June 2009, the Community Health Educators have:

  • Taken over teaching and preparation for eight community health groups: three women’s groups, a men’s group, a young girls group, and a group for young men and women, a post-HIV test club, and a pregnant women’s group.
  • Initiated home-based group meetings to encourage accountability for home health behaviors