27 JAN | Community awareness campaign in Senegal

In June 2023, with funding from the Oak Foundation and SDC, GAHP contracted the Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement (JVE), a local Civil Society Organization to carry out an awareness campaign on the impacts of lead on children and youths in Ngagne Diaw, Thiaroye Sur Mer and Mbeubeuss, Malika.

These two neighbourhoods were included in the BLL Study. The campaign "Reducing the Impact of Lead on Children's Health" is a follow-up activity of the BLL study. It was designed to educate, sensitize, and raise awareness in communities of the dangers of lead exposure for children. The campaign included activities for women groups, elected officials, and the general population however it was focused on children and youth groups.

Some of the activities included capacity-building workshops on lead with local authorities and stakeholders; Ndadje (community meetings) with women and youth groups to raise awareness, home sensibilization visits to raise awareness of parents, radio campaigns to discuss lead, ways of exposure and actions to be taken once parents notice signs of a lead contamination, a slam poetry competition, etc.

The campaign ended in January 2024. JVE held a closing ceremony on January 27. They invited elected officials, youth, women groups, and the communities.