Removing weeds and bushes may not fit exactly into the conventional understanding of what constitutes a healthcare intervention. But when people are facing mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, one of the best approaches is to cut off the threat at the source.
In Bolívar state, mosquitoes spread disease and cause dengue fever, which can cause flu-like symptoms and, in severe cases, threaten the lives of the infected. To combat the spread of dengue, our teams are working with communities to improve their understanding of vector-control strategies and help remove mosquito breeding grounds—eliminating the threat before it can take flight.
Before our team in Venezuela implemented a recent programme to combat the spread of the dengue virus, the Barrio Unión community was secluded. Today, it’s promoting alliances and building new relationships to help its neighbours. This community-wide change started when our team contacted Barrio Unión leadership to introduce our project to combat the spread of the mosquito-borne dengue virus.
As part of the anti-dengue project, our staff held educational sessions and provided material on how to prevent the spread of diseases such as dengue and malaria, and how to purify drinking water. “Previously, we were unaware of these topics,” one member of the Barrio Unión says. “We neglected our health because no healthcare professionals gave this level of attention to our community. Now that we have the information, we are grateful and happy to make our neighbourhoods healthier and safer.”
To ensure that our work was effective, we also implemented a community-feedback response mechanism (CBFRM) that invited open communication among neighbors, leadership and our humanitarian staff. As dialogue grew, so did the community members’ knowledge of vector control—along with their desire to spread their newly acquired knowledge.
Our team also distributed dengue-prevention kits for public areas, as well as household dengue-prevention kits for families. To help neighbourhoods remove weeds and eliminate potential mosquito breeding sites, the community dengue-prevention kits contain machetes, hoes, rakes, wheelbarrows, personal protection equipment, shovels, bush-cutting machines and garbage bags. Today, with fewer concerns about mosquito-borne illnesses, people are able to walk around their neighbourhoods with less worry about catching an infectious disease.
