Health Project Salavan
Health Education and development project in Saravane District – Phase I
At the end of 2017, the SFE began a new project in the province of Salavane, whose objective is to reduce poverty through health education and development in 10 villages of the province.
Why this project?
The province of Saravane is one of the poorest provinces of Laos with a worrying health status: half of the population lives below the poverty line, 54% of children under 5 years old suffer from chronic malnutrition, 2/3 of people do not use toilets, 2/3 of women give birth in villages without the assistance of qualified medical personnel, 2/3 of infants are not exclusively fed with breast milk during the first 5 months after birth. The medical staff of the district hospital and the 5 dispensaries near the villages do not have enough knowledge to meet the needs of the local population. The lack of equipment and medicines for care is also a recurring problem.
Objectives
- To improve the villagers’ knowledge of health, prevention and treatment of common diseases and to improve medical practices.
- To improve the medical knowledge and medical practice of the staff.
- To provide adequate equipment for a better service to the population.
- To increase the use of sanitation facilities and water supply.
- To improve nutrient intake (quantity and diversity), and improve crop diversification.
- To increase the population’s resources
Some activities
- Health promotion and disease prevention in the villages-
- Training of village health volunteers and health care staff in health centers and at the provincial hospital in diagnosis, treatment of diseases, administrative tasks.
- Training of communities in the construction of latrines, wells and irrigation systems as well as in the maintenance of these constructions.
- Village education on nutrition.
- Introduction of agricultural techniques to improve rice yields.
- Support for the development of vegetable and fruit gardens and animal husbandry.
- Introduction of income-generating activities in poor families.
- Training on income and savings management.
