A schoolteacher disseminating key malaria messages with the aid of instructional material.Photo Shot by CCSI for BA-N
Improving The Health and Learning Potential of Children Through School-Based Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) Programs
Malaria, an enduring menace in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, poses a grave public health challenge. Within this context, children are at increased risk and can quickly develop severe malaria, if undetected and untreated. In 2019 alone, 274,000 young children died of malaria, the majority of which occurred in Africa. This reality solidifies malaria’s position as one of the leading causes of death among children under the age of five years, accounting for about 20 percent of all-cause mortality among this age group.
Compelling evidence shows that malaria can lead to school absenteeism and affect the mental and physical development of children. Recognizing this, national malaria control programs and implementing partners have targeted this high-risk group with interventions aimed at reducing morbidity and mortality. Regrettably, health programs are not generally designed with school children in mind. However, it is important to design and implement school-based health programs, as crafting these targeted interventions has been found to improve student well-being and positively affect learning outcomes.
Schools have been observed to be important channels through which health services can be cost-effectively and conveniently delivered to a larger number of children. Yet, the coordination challenge between the health and education departments must not be overlooked in order to improve their health and learning potential.
Through funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Breakthrough ACTION-Nigeria (BA-N) partnered with the Nigerian government and local nongovernmental organizations, notably the Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI). The goal is to implement a school-based health program designed to promote the practice of positive priority health behaviors among children in schools including sleeping inside Insecticide-Treated Nets (ITNs) every night – all year round, seeking prompt care for fever, demanding testing for malaria before treating, and adhering to the full course of malaria treatment. The intervention was premised on the observation that children are strategic agents of change and can learn and adopt positive health behaviors as they grow.
BA-N and CCSI in partnership with stakeholders in the health and education sectors collaborated to pilot the malaria school-based Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) program in Benue, Cross River, and Oyo states. Leveraging school health clubs to educate secondary school students about malaria, the team imparted malaria education and fostered essential malaria-prevention behaviors. Coordinated by teachers who play a vital role in increasing awareness about malaria and other health conditions, the program rolled out a series of engaging activities such as malaria-themed discussions and quizzes to debates, essay competitions, drama, and even an edutainment board game tagged ‘mosquito and ladder.’
Facilitator flanked by students during School-based Social and Behaviour Change activities in Muslim Junior Grammer School, Odinjo, Oluyole. Oyo State Nigeria. Photo Shot by CCSI for BA-N.
After more than a year of pilot implementation, BA-N, with support from CCSI, conducted an After-Action Review (AAR) to gauge participants’ perceptions of the execution of the programme, its impact, achieved objectives, challenges, tool effectiveness, as well as issues relating to the sustainability and expansion of the SBC programme. The findings showed that the school SBC intervention was generally acknowledged as well-planned, conducted, and impactful, with positive outcomes that were beneficial to both students and teachers. The ripple effect saw improvement in their knowledge of malaria, positive changes in practices related to malaria prevention and control, and improvement in the conduct and communication skills of students.
The programme has gained momentum, with recommendations in favor of the replication and scale-up of this model in other schools, Local Government Areas (LGAs), and States, to optimize the benefits of the initiative. Participants from the review also advised the incorporation of more topics in the school SBC guide and a more robust collaboration with the Ministry of Education to promote sustainability and the alignment of the approach into the school curricula. It is hoped that this intervention will ultimately significantly contribute to the Government of Nigeria’s efforts to reduce malaria-related morbidity and mortality, while concurrently enhancing learning outcomes among students across the nation.
The Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI) is a leading Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) organization with expertise in utilizing evidence from research to implement effective strategies that address barriers preventing designated audiences from adopting recommended behaviours.
Birthed by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (JHCCP), Baltimore, USA, and registered in 2001 as a Non-Governmental Organization with the Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria, CCSI continues to work towards being the centre of excellence in strategic communications in Africa.
Driven by values of integrity, passion, care, innovation, and excellence, CCSI focuses on the central role of strategic communication to impact behaviours, build brands, and provide technical leadership in health and social development.
