Community Health Volunteer's Training Manual - Population Council

Community Mobilisation and Participation
Topic 6 Benefits and challenges of Community
Mobilisation
Benefits of Community Mobilisation
What benefits do you get when you work together as a community on a health problem?
To improve the health status or prevent disease or earn more money? We say two heads are
better than one. We help each other when we work together and the community at large
also becomes healthy. For more reasons let’s do this exercise. Some benefits are listed in Box
2.3.5 below. Work through the exercise first and compare your work with the answers in the
box.
Exercise 2.3.6
Objective
To compile and discuss the benefits of
community mobilisation
Time: 10mins
Questions
1. What are the similarities and differences in
the 2 maps?
2. What things are not included in the maps?
3. Where should they be placed?
4. What can CHVs use a map for?
Box 2.3.5: Benefits of Community Mobilisation
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Instructions to the Facilitator
1. Ask participants to work in
pairs.
2. Ask each pair to list at least
four benefits of community
mobilisation
3. Let them exchange the list
with another group to read
out.
It encourages community participation
Human and material resources from all the sectors of the community are brought
together. This contributes a lot to success in community programs
It enhances cost effective programs and avoids duplication
It promotes community ownership
Community members share useful information
Working together generates people’s commitment
Confidence and goodwill is enhanced
It helps identify human and material resources
Improves community health services
Promotes disease prevention and early treatment
Establishes formal and informal community structures
Provides social support systems and networks for the disadvantaged and marginalised in
the community
Generates empowerment to take risks which individuals might hesitate to do
Leadership/community leaders emerge.
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