Emergency Toolkit for Food Security and Nutrition Protection: Cholera Disease Preparedness Community Group Module

CORE Group has developed this module to improve preparedness for and response of communities in countries at risk of a cholera epidemic. It is a tool to teach people about cholera and change their behaviours.

The module consists of four lesson plans with accompanying flipcharts, intended to be delivered through community health workers. The lessons are intended to reach mothers and caregivers of children under age five, a group that is at particular risk of death if infected. The module shares information about: symptoms and risks; what families can do to prevent infection; how, when, and where to seek care; and what actions to take in the aftermath of an outbreak.

Each lesson begins with objectives. These are the behaviour, knowledge, and belief objectives that are covered in the lesson. Under the objectives, all of the materials needed for the lesson are listed. Each exercise (section of the lesson plan) is identified by a small picture. The facilitator uses pictures to remind non-literate peer educators (referred to as "Leader Mothers") of the order of the activities.

The first activity in each lesson is a game or song. Following the game, all facilitators will take attendance. The facilitator follows up with troubleshooting, asking questions about any difficulties that the Leader Mothers have had teaching the previous lessons. Next, the facilitator reads the story printed on the flipchart, using the images to share the story. The story in each lesson is followed by discussion questions to ask about the current practices of the women in the group. The pictures in the flipchart are used here to share information and facilitate conversation: The facilitator explains the captions and key messages written on the back of the flipchart (or that the Leader Mother learns from the facilitator if they do not read). Next is an Activity - a "hands-on" exercise to help the participants understand and apply what they have learned. The facilitator then asks if there are any obstacles that prevent the caregivers from trying the new practices. Together with the other mothers in the group, the facilitator helps to solve problems and obstacles to behaviour change that have been mentioned.

"Next is Practice and Coaching. We want to make sure that each Leader Mother understands the material and can present it to her neighbors. The facilitator observes and coaches the Leader Mothers as they practice teaching in pairs using the flipcharts. When Leader Mothers teach their neighbors, they will repeat this activity asking each woman to share the key messages (and practices) that she has learned with the woman next to her. The Leader Mother will go around and listen to each pair, making sure they understood the key messages correctly. Finally, the facilitator requests a commitment from each of the women in the group. It is up to each woman to make a choice. Do not force anyone to make a commitment if they are not ready."

Developed through a Technical and Operational Performance Support (TOPS) Program Small Grant, these resources have been shared with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)'s Office of Food for Peace, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for immediate use in Yemen (site of a devastating 2016-17 cholera outbreak).