The effectiveness of the Competence Approach in the struggle against Malaria

Dramas are a very powerful tool for spreading the malaria competence approach in communities.
They are a way to transmiting the content of the self assessment tool.
They allow people who can hardly read to get the message, and to get it in the local language, which is most important.

The members ot the NSGA drama groups are actors, they are also well trained malaria competence facilitators. They play regularly in communities, but they also have the major responsibility to teach community drama groups how to forward the malaria competence messages.

Once they have make the local drama groupe use the self assessment tool, the NSGA actors-facilitators train its members to presentation and public speech techniques, so that each of them will be able to talk clearly in front of the community. Then, they train them to drama techniques. And finally they encourage them to write their own dramas about malaria. They read these dramas, watch them them being played, discuss them, criticize them.

After this training, the local drama group is able to write and play a drama in local language emphasising such or such aspect of the malaria competence approach.

The National Heath Department supports these initiatives and has small contracts with the local drama groups to make them spread the message in nearby villages.