CAPECS empowers community-based surveillance volunteers

Community-Based Surveillance Volunteers in the Duori Sub-District under the Jirapa District of the Upper West Region have been empowered with some logistics to help increase immunization coverage in five communities where immunization coverage is low.

The logistics including rain coats, wellington boots, rechargeable megaphones and torchlight were donated by Capacity Enhancement and Community Support (CAPECS), a non-governmental organisation operating in the Upper West Region.

Mr. Sanusi Tahiru, CAPECS Monitoring and Evaluation Officer who presented the items to Madam Pheobe Balagumyetime, Jirapa District Director of Health Services, said the gesture was part of CAPEC’s intervention to help increase immunization in the District.

He indicated that the decision to provide the items came up during a stakeholders meeting where the Community-based Surveillance Volunteers themselves, raised the challenge regarding the very important services they were rendering at the community level.

Mr. Tahiru said CAPECS was impressed that the volunteers demand was not monetary but rather one that bordered on helping them improve on the voluntary services they offered to the communities.

He hoped therefore that with the items, the volunteers would be motivated more to work effectively towards increasing immunization, adding that CAPECS was committed to supporting them in areas within its capacity.

Madam Pheobe after receiving the items spelt out some of the roles of Community-based Surveillance Volunteers to include mobilizing communities for registration and immunization services, keeping surveillance on diseases and monthly reporting among other important functions.

She said their work, though voluntary was full of challenges such as walking long distances both day and night, no protective clothing against the weather especially during rainy seasons and lack of recognition of their work by some community people among others.

The Jirapa District Director of Health Services therefore thanked CAPECS for the kind gesture, saying she was optimistic that the donation of the items would go a long way to motivate the volunteers to deliver to meet expectation and possibly beyond.