Community Health Volunteer's Training Manual - Population Council

Community Mobilisation and Participation
CHVs/VHCs need to determine what their community members’ attitudes are towards
the problem or issue and what the public expects. If there is high interest they are likely to
support the activities to solve the problem. Find out this during the planning stage so that
you can put in strategies to sustain community interest. Box 2.3.4 lists some key steps in
planning.
Box 2.3.4 Some of the things you do in planning
Analyse
The ability to analyse issues and information is necessary for effective mobilisation. After the
analysis you have to choose a course of action. Since each course of action has advantages and
disadvantages, you have to carefully weigh all the alternative actions before you make the decision.
Also you need to find out peoples’ perceptions about the issues and their willingness to participate
in any activity you plan to do. For example: helping a community to decide on which project to work
on malaria prevention or family planning programme.
Set Objectives and targets
Set objectives and targets that are clear, simple, and can be measured. For example, if the
community selects the Malaria prevention programme then they can set objectives and targets like:-
“To distribute ITNs to 70% of pregnant women and 80% of children under five years in Tobo district,
by December 2008”.
Planning
The ability to draw effective and workable plans is a skill that can be learnt by doing. Provide
communities with adequate information on the effects of the problem/issue you are trying to
address. The plan you put together should answer the ‘5Ws’ and ‘H’ that is:
• What do you want to do? E.g. Prevent malaria among pregnant women and children under 5
years through the distribution of ITNs.
• Why do you want to do it? E.g. To reduce the deaths from malaria in children under five and
pregnant women.
• Who will carry out the different activities? E.g. Volunteers will distribute ITNs to pregnant women
and children under five in the community.
• When should the activity be done? E.g. Distribution of the ITNs will start in January 2007 and
end in December 2008.
• Which resources will be needed and who will provide them? E.g. Volunteers will need bicycles,
home-visiting bags, ITNs and record keeping forms. Donors will supply ITN and bicycles;
DHMTs will supply home visiting bags; and Ghana Health Service will provide record keeping
forms.
• How will the activities be carried out?’ E.g. The ITNs will be distributed at the CHC, at homes, at
durbar grounds, and other community distribution outlets.
Managing/Organising
All community volunteers must have organisational and management skills because
community groups have to be organised, executive committees formed and strengthened.
This skill comes by practice just like all the technical skills we have discussed in this session.
For example, if your community plans to hold a durbar to create awareness on the use of
ITNs, you have to work with the CHO to organise the community members and invited
121