Families affected by floods in Ghana are learning health care tips they can use at home, thanks to a network of Red Cross mothers' clubs.The clubs were set up by the Ghana Red Cross as a way for mothers to learn about basic health care and use that information to educate their communities.

During recent flooding, John Haskew, a British Red Cross health delegate, realised they had tremendous potential to educate families in flooded areas about how to stay healthy.

Prevention and treatment

He explained: "We are working with more than 370 mothers' clubs that have up to 15 members each. In the next three months, the women at these clubs will reach at least 11,640 households with basic health care messages."The main health priorities concern malaria, diarrhoeal disease and nutrition. The women will go door-to-door and form community groups to talk to other mothers about treatment and prevention.

John said: "Families will learn how to prevent and treat the health problems they are most likely to be faced with. For example, to help them prevent the spread of malaria, the volunteers will find out if they have bed nets and are using them correctly. They'll talk to them about common symptoms – such as fever – that they need to look out for. Volunteers will be able to identify and treat diarrhoeal disease in the home and know when to refer people for appropriate health treatment."

Grassroots education

With close to 100 million members and volunteers worldwide, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is able to respond to emergencies through local volunteers as well as international experts.

John said: "In this type of response, we're able to work through the grassroots network of volunteers and mothers' clubs to spread basic health education messages. That's one of the strengths of the Movement so it's very satisfying to reinforce that system."

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