With lessons in hygiene, UP kids to beat encephalitis at its own game

LUCKNOW: Seeking to bring down the number of children affected by encephalitis in the state, the UP health department has introduced engaging game kits to spread awareness about traditional risk factors associated with the disease, which claims as many as 500 children in the state every year.

Launched by the UP government in association with Unicef, the ‘Swachh Vidaylaya Action’ kit aims to educate children about ways to keep encephalitis at bay with the help of engaging games.

Sample this: The kit contains a ‘germ game’ to promote the importance of washing hands with soap and keep diseases at bay. Designed on the lines of the traditional tin can alley game, children have to hit a pyramid of 10 cans with a ball. “If all 10 cans fall, the teacher tells the child that by washing one’s hands with soap can help them keep diseases away. Else, children are reminded about how to wash their hands,” explained a teacher associated with the project.

Launched as a part of the state government’s Dastak campaign the ready-to-use, low cost tool kit is based on the principle of learning through habit formation among school children between the ages of 6-15 years.

During the first phase of the Dastak campaign, nodal health teachers used similar kits to spread awareness in villages at high risk of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome.

When health officials heard about the popularity of the tool kits they approved the use of Swachh Vidaylaya Action kits for other endemic villages. “All villages in the endemic region are vulnerable to encephalitis though the degree of risk in each may vary,” said secretary of UP health department V Hekali Zhimomi.

An expert of communication for development at Unicef Bhai Shelley said,“Habits developed in initial years stay with people throughout their lives. It is for this purpose that we are investing in this long term investment which promises to give us a disease-free future,” he said.