Players in the health sector have adopted creative ways of spreading messages aimed at influencing change of behaviour.
Vicar General of Mangochi Diocese of the Catholic Church, Andrew Nkhata, said this in Machinga on Saturday when he gave out prizes to primary school learners who creatively demonstrated how to prevent and treat malaria.
The pupils competed in the categories of story-telling, drawing, music, song writing and drama.
Judges evaluated the learners’ ability to clearly send malaria-related messages through their art.
Through the project, Nkhata said young people demonstrated that they have the potential to overcome some of the health challenges facing Malawi.
“Through art, the children have shown that it is possible to influence behaviour change in our society. We are convinced that art is the best way to influence behaviour change,” Nkhata said.
He observed that Mangochi Diocese faces the challenge of Malaria due to its geographical position as it lies close to water bodies that are said to be major breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
“So, under this project, we want to work on strategies that promote malaria prevention and not cure. This, we believe, can be achieved if the youth are put in the forefront. Over time, the children will be in a position to influence their parents and siblings,” Nkhata said.
Diocesan Health Secretary, Piterkins Chisoni, said he was satisfied with the way learners expressed themselves through art.
“We are distributing mosquito nets every year but we are still registering increased cases of malaria-related deaths, which means that the behaviour for more people is not acceptable. We need to encourage people to change their behaviour, “Chisoni said.
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