Rada’a Hospital Clean-up Campaign
Project: Communication for Cholera Prevention and Control
Donor: UNICEF
Sector: Communications for Development C4D
Crossing Sectors: WASH, Health
Target Area: Rada’a District, Al-Baidha Governorate
CONTEXT
The current humanitarian situation in Al-Baidha governorate combined with pre-existing culturally-inspired negative attitudes and practices are major constraints facing communities in adopting positive hygiene practices, especially for children and women. Lack of accurate information and appropriate knowledge among conflict-affected communities has also impacted these negative behaviors and practices.
Efforts of the Community Volunteers and Youth continued effortlessly to conduct awareness raising sessions and encourage community members to adopt preventative practices against Cholera and Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD)
Rada’a District Hospital
Rada’a Hospital is the main hospital in the district providing health care services to residents in the city and its neighboring areas.
RRD’s Community Volunteers were in shock to witness the amount of waste accumulated around the Hospital. This according to them only indicates that the hospital may just be another repository for airborne disease instead of being the safe haven it was expected to be.
Community Volunteers decided to take action into their own hands once they saw the unbearable situation of the Central Hospital in Rada’a regardless that their efforts were aimed at raising awareness in the district.
“I was honestly surprised to see that a forklift and a truck were readily available at the hospital on the day we decided to conduct the cleanup campaign”, said Community Volunteer, Yahya Nassiri.
RRD received great gratitude from the Hospital’s staff in appreciation of the efforts made. The most important outcome of this activity was the change Community Volunteers were able to make.
People are now well aware that removal of waste is not impossible, in fact, it only needs their efforts and coordination with local authorities to regularly carry out such activities.
They contacted offices of local authorities in the district to help and received positive response and encouragement particularly from representatives of the Local Council, Office of the National Authority for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Recovery (NAMCHA), Cleaning Fund, and the Local Corporation Water Supply and Sanitation in the district.
While support and encouragement were evident in their response, CVs did not expect that members of the local authority would take them seriously and step out of their way to support their efforts.
Local authority representatives decided to support the Community Volunteers in their efforts and an unexpectedly large clean-up campaign targeted the main hospital in the district.
This activity was the first in a series of such wonderful clean-up campaign activities conducted in Rada district and the efforts will continue until all neighborhoods, private and public establishments are reached.