The effect of health on child survivalLearning objectives

To learn about:

• factors that affect children’s health • ways to improve children’s health• what Save the Children is doing to help.

How do these images link to a child’s health?

Write the letter of the photo, what it shows and a way this could affect a child’s health (resource 2.1).

A

B

C

D

Save the Children

Madhuri Dass/ Save the Children

FKarin Beate Nøsterud/ Save the Children

AAmadou Mbodj/Save the Children

E

3

How could help to solve these problems?Write your ideas in the last column.

4

What has Save the Children done to help?

Match the problem to the right solution.

(resource 2.2)

5

You should have got…..Problems Solutions

Prices of food are rising and there has been a drought for the past few months. Children in the village are becoming malnourished.

Put money into clean water, healthcare and food. Train volunteers and health workers to spot symptoms of malnutrition. Distribute food to people most in need.

The nearest water well is two miles away from the village. Women spend four hours a day collecting and carrying water. It’s unsafe for them to collect water in the evenings. This means their children can’t go to school and get an education.

Education is important for people to break free from poverty. There are two options:

1/ build a well in the village so they no longer have to walk for four hours a day

2/ Set up lessons for children during the evenings so they still receive an education

There’s only one doctor for every 1,000 people and healthcare is very expensive. Many mothers in the village cannot afford this and if they can they sometimes have to wait weeks to see a doctor

The government needs to invest more money into healthcare so people don’t have to pay. More doctors need to be trained. Charities can help by training volunteers and bringing doctors from overseas.

Mosquitoes live near areas with water and can spread a life threatening disease called malaria by biting humans. Many of the villagers have malaria

To prevent the spread of malaria the villagers need to be educated about malaria and provided with mosquito nets to use over their beds when they sleep. Drugs need to be provided to treat people who have malaria.

The rainfall this year has been very heavy and the river has overflowed into the village twice.

Build banks around the river to stop the rivers from overflowing into the village and preventing the spread of disease.

Winter in the village is very cold., this is a problem because when babies are born they can’t control their body temperature. Many are dying from a life threatening disease called pneumonia.

Educate mothers on how to look after their babies. Supply woolly hats that the mothers can put on their babies so they don’t lose too much heat from their heads.

6

An introduction to Kroo Bay

• Watch the video clip carefully. Your teacher is going to ask you:

What is the main problem the children talk about?

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/kroobay/index.php

7

What is it like to work as a health worker in Kroo Bay?

Listen to the following video clips and fill out the worksheet (resource 2.3):

• the clinic (nurses at work clip) • Adama G, the community health officer• Adama B, the nurse • Bintu, the midwife

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/kroobay/people_places_clinic.php

True or false?

One child in ten dies before their 5th birthday in Sierra Leone.

FALSE: It’s one child in four.

True or false?

Save the Children is giving volunteers kits and training to stop children dying from diarrhoea.

TRUE

True or false?

Kroo Bay has only two rundown clinics for 6,000 people.

FALSE. There’s only one clinic.

True or false?

Save the Children is renovating the rundown clinic to help children.

TRUE

True or false?

There are only 20 toilets in Kroo Bay for 6,000 people

FALSE. There are only two.

True or false?

Save the Children is building banks to stop the filthy river flooding and spreading deadly diseases.

TRUE

20

Homework

• Write a ‘day in the life of’’ as a nurse or doctor working at the Kroo Bay clinic.

– Who comes to see you and why?– What problems do you face?– How do you feel?