Disease Dilemma's - Case Study - Guinea Worm in Ghana - Grassroots education strategies Flashcards
How many cases were there of guinea worm in Ghana - 1989 vs 2017?
1989: 180k (2nd highest in world). 2017: 0 cases (eradicated by 2010)
Explain the stages of guinea worm life cycle (5)
1) Person drinks water with water fleas in it (Guinea Worm Larvae lives in fleas).
2) Fleas make way to abdomen and release larvae.
3)Guinea worm grows to 3m in abdomen
4) 1 year after infection, worm moves to lower limbs and emerges through blister
5) Worm emerging is painful and so people rush to cool limb in water = millions of larvae released into water (fleas consume larvae & starts again)
Which NGO was responsible for combatting guinea worm in Ghana? How many volunteers were trained?
Ghana Red Cross and 6000 women
Why were women important in combatting guinea worm in their communities?
1) Gatekeepers to water supplies - they were responsible for sourcing water and looking after water supplies in village context (men had other roles that usually took them away from village and so had little control/interaction with water)
What strategies did women volunteers implement in villages in regards to guinea worms (5)
1) Distributing & checking cloth filters that remove water fleas.
2) Showing people how to use filters correctly.
3) Identifying water sources used by the village and ensuring larva identity applied to them
4) Educating locals on how disease is contracted via diagrams
5) Isolating infected villagers from water sources to avoid contamination
What did Carter Center provide to combat guinea worm?
1) Nylon straws to help filter water when drinking (worn around neck for ease of use)
Why was eradication of Guinea Worm slower in Northern Ghana?
1) Ethnic fighting meant harder for NGO to get to region to recruit and train female volunteers
Success of Guinea Worm campaign?
Disease eradicated throughout Ghana by 2015
