From Lomé to Nanergou (in the far north of Togo, only 20 km from Burkina Faso) passing through Tsévié, Gbota Assigamé, Atakpamé, Doumé, Soutouboua, Aloukpabountou, Sokodé, Djangou et Dapaong, all the communities we visited, all the Regional Coordination staff of the Red Cross we met, had used the Self Assessment framework as their main tool for creating awareness of malaria and stimulating action to fight against it.
But what exactly is this tool about? It is a document, a framework that allows the community to self assess its level of competence in the struggle against malaria, to decide its priorities and to build up the Action Plan that will allow its members to reach the goals they have set for themselves. The Self Assessment framework includes 14 good practices, ranging from acknowledgement of malaria as a disease, to resource mobilisation, going through to use of bednets, antenatal visits, etc. Five levels help communities to see where they stand in each of these practices.
This awareness leads communities naturally to set priorities, to adopt an Action Plan and to take effective action: use of bednets, cleaning of environment, etc. Soon, a virtuous circle is established: the village sees that malaria cases get fewer and the dynamic of action is strengthened.
The Self Assessment is an opportunity for rich discussion, a powerful tool for freeing speech. Of course, we are here in a society where people have always been discussing, within families or neighbourhood groups. They talk about politics, land issues, women issues. “But all these matters are splitting ones,” we were told. “When we self assess our Malaria Competence, we talk about issues that bring us together, make us closer, mobilize us."
Dr Kuami Battah is head of the Togolese Red Cross Health Department. When we met him in Sokodé, he stated that he had definitely decided to extend the use of the Self Assessment to the whole country on the occasion of the next follow up campaign, from 2009 to 2011, that will follow the national bednets distribution (December 2008). “We will go on using this tool systematically and extend it to all places where the Red Cross has activities, because is allows ownership of the malaria issue by the communities. They diagnose their own situation and they set their own targets.”
Adelassissi Aremu, Regional Coordinator of the Red Cross in the Savanes region adds, “The Self Assessment is a simple tool. It is not necessary to have a doctorate to use it. It is within the reach of a peasant.”
In Aloukpabountou, the local nurse underlined this point. “The Self Assessment is very, very useful to us. Before we used it, we did not know where we stood in the struggle against malaria. Now we do. And you barely have to remind the community about the Action Plan to have everyone begin to take action.”