The effectiveness of the Competence Approach in the struggle against Malaria

Two women have brought the added value of this approach to the existing strategies in the Gambia : Mrs Adama Jagne Sonko, Deputy Programme Manager in the National Malaria Control Programme and Miss Marie Chorr, NSGA Project Manager.

Both of them attended the Malaria Competence workshop in Mombasa, in 2005. Once back in The Gambia, they started to use it within their own organisations, and then in a first community, Sohm.

A few months later, they trained 30 facilitators to use the Competence approach in 3 Health Districts: 16 communities in the Western region, 15 communities and 15 schools in North Bank West and North Bank East Health Regions were introduced to the approach in this way..

In each village, they started by talking with the Alkalo (village head) to give him information and ask for his consent, which he always gave. Then, they started to help the Village Development Committee to Self Assess its competence in Malaria. And then they worked with the Traditional Communicators, the theatre group, the village health worker and the traditional birth attendants.

The Key Village Community Health Nurse, who is in charge of ten villages, was also integrated into this process.

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