Community Health for 4 Moroccan Villages

The first annual Health Awareness Days were held in the four villages of Amezray, Aguddim, Taghia and Tighanimin in May and early June 2012 in partnership with the Atlas Cultural Foundation and the Iqra Fund. The gatherings were a huge success and were received with great enthusiasm by the women, as well as leaders of these villages. In the setting of small, participatory discussions, the women expressed their challenges, concerns and accomplishments in many areas including health, nutrition, access to water, childbirth, sanitation and education. The information was gathered with the help of local students then compiled by Dr. Genevieve Chabot, Iqra Fund founder and MSU Faculty, and her team.

Using the information collected at these awareness days, we are excited to continue to develop our community health program for 2013. Some of the top items that were highlighted by the women that we will focus on include:

1). Topics on Community Health
2). Topics on General Health
3). Topics on Infant Health
4). Topics on Midwifery

The importance of clean water, sanitation, hygiene and nutrition cannot be underestimated in the overall picture of health, and that is where we are focusing our energies for the Community Health Program 2013. Expanding on the processes in place, our goal is to provide education and resources that achieve long-term health for these four remote communities of Morocco.
Specifically, the goals of the Community Health Program are to:
1. Increase utilization of the Zawiya Ahansal clinic and Azilal hospital by local villagers.
2. Provide education on safe water, sanitation and hygiene.
3. Provide education on improving nutrition, especially for women and children, and proper food storage strategies.
4. Provide general health education for the community.
5. Identify key community health promoters and facilitate leadership to ensure program sustainability.

Links:

• Atlas Cultural Foundation