Health Education at AMBSO
AMBSO has established a well streamlined structure aimed at promoting the general health of the communities and ensures consulted inclusion of all stakeholders in its programs. This is primarily achieved through a community engagement approach that involves a ream of power that includes; the local government at the district, sub-county, and the villages.
One of our Community meetings
At the Village level/Research Communities
- AMBSO works in partnership with members of the Village Health Teams (VHTs) and Local council leadership in the various communities where it works to organize gatherings which target the general community regardless of age and sex to discuss the research and service activities planned for their communities. This platform is also used as the first level where AMBSO seeks for the community consent to participate in its activities. This is so, because most of the participants in these meetings end up as the actual research and service participants that AMBSO targets.
At service delivery points
- During the actual conduct of research and services in the communities, AMBSO staff conduct both group and individual health education sessions with participants who turn up to the activity implementation hubs. Other additional health services including; screening HIV and syphilis, random blood sugars, weight/waist/ height to inform measurement of body mass index, among others are provided. Besides the research and clinical service implementation hubs, the GBV, and Illicit drugs rehabilitation activities, as well conduct community dialogues members and allow the community members an opportunity to suggest solutions that can help to address the issues at hand.
Community Engagement meetings are guided by a comprehensively compiled mobilization guide which provides prescribed guidelines and messages that are used during the interactions with the different stakeholders with a spirit of promoting the community’s general health and encourage participation in all AMBSO research and service activities.
The following at the levels at which AMBSO engages the community for Health education and community mobilization activities;
The District
- This is the first point of entry to the communities. It is a platform that AMBSO uses to engage with the key stakeholders at the district level to provide information about the programs that the organization intends to implement in the selected communities in the district. The meeting with the districts officials is also used to share new findings from the Research and services that AMBSO implements and also provide any other information that might be helpful to the district planning authorities.
The sub-county level
- Here AMBSO, with the help of the Sub-county leadership carefully selects a list of key leaders at this level and officially invites them to a one-day sensitization meeting. At this meeting health education messages and plans of penetrating the communities are shared with the delegates, and input to improve AMBSO’s activity plans and schedules is sought, based on the experience and technical know-who of the leaders in attendance. The meeting participants are also given general health education messages in areas of prostate cancer, gender-based violence (GBV) and Illicit drugs use. Information on HIV/AIDs, STI screening and prevention models including safe male circumcision is also discussed.
- Wholesomely, AMBSO carries out all its Health Education and Community Mobilization activities in strong partnership with the communities that participate in research and services. These partnerships are vital to the success of research undertakings, educational and advocacy activities to HIV prevention, care and treatment interventions.
