To raise awareness on good personal health care, hygiene and illness prevention in Patna, Bihar, The World Federation has organized volunteers to visit the various villages in Bihar to present a 5-minute health talk during the evening Majalis programs in the Month of Muharram. The people of rural Bihar lack basic knowledge and information on various health related issues. These health talks are a wonderful opportunity to address the health needs of our brothers and sisters living in the villages in Bihar. 

Twenty youth volunteers were selected from Gopalpur, Bhikhpur and Kujhwa villages of Siwan to assist with this program. To ensure that these volunteers are adequately prepared to speak at the upcoming gatherings, a workshop to train these individuals was conducted in December 2007 in the Kujhwa (Siwan) district of Bihar.

The workshop commenced with a brief introduction by Professor Sami Askari who spoke about the objectives of the program:

• To introduce useful information about common diseases
• To help the health care workers and community members identify commonly occurring diseases
• To educate the community members in prevention of these diseases
• To raise awareness on the various aspects of preventive healthcare measures
• To develop skills to handle health issues effectively
• To develop participants as service providers/capacity builders in the community to reduce IMR, MMR, improve immunization and nutritional status of children
• To promote overall good health of the community through health education by Community Health Workers in community meetings

The instructors were then introduced and the formal training began. Dr Neeraj Agrawal, one of the key resource persons at the workshop, asked the participants to identify diseases which they thought were commonly found in their geographical areas. This list included illnesses such as:

• Cough / Pneumonia / Bronchitis
• Tuberculosis
• Malaria
• Kalazar
• Typhoid
• Jaundice
• Diarrhea
• Cancer

Each of the above illnesses was discussed at great length with the use of a power point presentation and a printout in Hindi was distributed to all the participants. Finally, Dr. Neeraj explained the importance of immunization and urged the participants to ensure the vaccination of all children in their areas.

The training ended with an assurance from Professor Askari to continue this vital program. He requested all of the participants to go through the literature which was given to them and come prepared next time for a group discussion so that they may be able to disseminate information to other persons.

The World Federation is extremely grateful to Professor Sami Askari for all of his assistance and efforts in ensuring the success of this program in Bihar. Professor Askari expressed:  “these are unchartered territories and I pray that Allah (swt) gives me the strength to implement these health talks across the villages in Bihar.”

For more information, email health@world-federation.org.