From: barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS: KENYA: COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMME FIGHTING MEASLES /REPEAT/
Originator: barnhart@gagme
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 03:49:58 GMT

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Reference: Women
Title: KENYA: COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMME FIGHTING MEASLES /REPEAT/


an inter press service feature

by dorothy munyakho

kisumu, kenya, oct 8 (ips) -- concerned about the high incidence
of measles in western kenya, a group of 22 women on the fringes
of this lake victoria town have joined forces against ''the most
problematic of all the immunisable diseases''.

the dago nyamasaria women's group has set aside one room of a
mothers in the neighbourhood the long distances they walk to
reach static clinics.

''if we had material, we would finish tomorrow'', says
christabel ayoo, dago nyamasaria's chair, conveying the group's
eagerness.

completion of the clinic has been hampered by shortage of
cement which has recently hit this east african nation of 24
million people.

dago is one of 32 women's groups under the u.n. children's
fund-sponsored child survival and development programme in this
western kenyan town.

described by social welfare officer charles anyang' as one of
their most progressive women's groups, dapo also sells water,
thanks to a 9,092-gallon water tank it recently installed with
unicef's assistance.

the water does not only earn dago 1,500 shillings (about 47
dollars) a month. it has also helped reduce the incidence of
water-borned diseases within the community.

kisumu municipality's medical officer of health, dr dan
wendo, says scattered health centres have made immunisation
coverage in western kenya very poor.

while mobile clinics have partly solved the distance snag,
maintenance and fueling of vehicles remains problematic. unicef
has helped the municipality reach eight mobile centres a week.

coming up over the last six years of the dsp programme,
mobile clinics have boosted immunisation services provided by
five static clinics in this town of 300,000 people.

although the town has achieved a 96-percent immunisation
coverage for tuberculosis and polio, measles coverage is a
pathetic 49.9 percent.

wendo considers the almost 50 percent ''drop out'' rate for
measles ''very worrying''. (more/ips)


kenya: community-based (2)                    /repeat/

the problem of low measles coverage is global. while 1.9
million measles deaths have been averted by the universal
immunisation campaign of the 1980s, 800,000 children still die
of measles, says the unicef's 1992 'state of the world's
children report'. measles ''is the most problematic of all
immunisable diseases''.

together, the six immunisable diseases -- tuberculosis,
diphteria, whopping cough, tetanus, polio and measles -- account
for 1.7 million deaths yearly. measles alone claims almost half
of them.f

at the world summit on children in new york in 1990, leaders
set the target of 95 percent annual reduction in measles deaths
from the current 840,000.

in eastern and southern africa where immunisation coverage is
60 percent, measles coverage has lagged behind other immunisable
diseases. this is due mainly to misinformation by older health
workers -- who refuse to immunise children -- and some mothers'
own cultural beliefs.

a dangerous belief among kisumu mothers is that a baby must
get measles early in life, says wendo. a child who gets measles
late risks suffering severely and might even die. mothers also
believe ''the measles must be severe, with rashes and
diarrhoea''.

since immunised children tend to suffer a milder form of
measles, immunisation makes mothers uncertain about the future
survival of their children.

''it is important to tackle community beliefs as their
(mothers') perception is different from ours'', says wendo.

the municipality has embarked on a social mobilisation
campaign with csd-oriented women's groups to create awareness of
the importance of immunisation using community theatre.

recently, a travelling theatre performance associating
measles with malnutrition and child deaths highly motivated
women who now appreciate the need for measles immunisation.

''belonging to this (dago) women's group has taught me a lot,
not only about measles, but also other diseases'', says grace
nyatia (38), a mother of two, who lost her first child to
measles. (end/ips/dm/apc/92)