In the villages of Loul Sessène, when a child isn’t growing as they should, the first to notice is often a community health worker. That is why the project “The New Paediatric Hospital. Together Against Maternal and Child Malnutrition”, supported by the Fondation d’Entreprise Wavestone, starts with them.
Who are community health workers?
In Senegal, they are the first agent of the health system. They live in the communities they serve, know the families and have earned their trust.
They play a vital role: they monitor children’s growth, follow up cases of moderate malnutrition at home, refer severe cases to the CREN and advise mothers on nutrition and hygiene.
Where hospitals are far away, they are often the only help within reach.
The training
In collaboration with the Diofior Health District, the community health workers from the municipality’s 19 villages learned to recognise the early signs of malnutrition, report cases and collect data digitally.
They are now ready to carry out the nutritional screenings planned under the “1000 Days Zero Hunger” programme.
This activity is part of the project made possible by the support of the Fondation d’Entreprise Wavestone, which since 2009 has promoted initiatives for children living in poverty and extreme vulnerability, in France and around the world.
