ERCS Joins Acute Watery Diarrhea Prevention Efforts
August 11, 2016
As Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) epidemic persists in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS), in collaboration with UNICEF, launched an awareness creation campaign.
The Campaign is bringing a real impact on the lives of residents of Addis Ababa such as Behriya Ahmeds family. Her sister is one of the victims of the epidemic.
Like many other people, Behriya and her sister used to give less attention to hygiene and sanitation. Though they had heard about AWD before, they knew little about how to protect themselves until they learned lessons from the new posters that are now posted all over the neighborhoods.
We have to eat food that is well cooked, drink purified water and often wash our hands, Behriya said while explaining how aware she has become.
Teams of volunteers from ERCS Addis Ababa Branch have been distributing leaflets, brochures and posting posters as well as hanging up banners with various messages to create awareness on how to protect themselves from the epidemic. Health centers, schools, public gatherings, markets and slum areas are primarily targeted for the campaign.
On top of this, ERCS have been handing over free soap and other hygiene and sanitation equipments as immediate response to the epidemic.
The ultimate aim of the public-awareness creation campaign is to ensure that individual households know how to prevent AWD and what to do in case its symptoms are seen. The campaign is targeted to reach out more than three million people throughout the city.
The Campaign is bringing a real impact on the lives of residents of Addis Ababa such as Behriya Ahmeds family. Her sister is one of the victims of the epidemic.
Like many other people, Behriya and her sister used to give less attention to hygiene and sanitation. Though they had heard about AWD before, they knew little about how to protect themselves until they learned lessons from the new posters that are now posted all over the neighborhoods.
We have to eat food that is well cooked, drink purified water and often wash our hands, Behriya said while explaining how aware she has become.
Teams of volunteers from ERCS Addis Ababa Branch have been distributing leaflets, brochures and posting posters as well as hanging up banners with various messages to create awareness on how to protect themselves from the epidemic. Health centers, schools, public gatherings, markets and slum areas are primarily targeted for the campaign.
On top of this, ERCS have been handing over free soap and other hygiene and sanitation equipments as immediate response to the epidemic.
The ultimate aim of the public-awareness creation campaign is to ensure that individual households know how to prevent AWD and what to do in case its symptoms are seen. The campaign is targeted to reach out more than three million people throughout the city.