Meet Eva, Community Health Promoter

Women in Tanzania are educated about health issues by BRAC Community Health Promoters.

(Photo by: BRAC/Shehzad Noorani)

Meet Eva, Community Health Promoter...

from Dar es Salaam. Eva is one of 1,716 BRAC Community Health Promoters (CHPs) in Tanzania who provides basic health care services to their communities. Like other CHPs, Eva is responsible for 150 to 200 households, all within one kilometer of her home.

During each visit...

Eva checks on the health of household members, offers treatment for basic illnesses and checks to see if there are any pregnant women in the house that need to be referred for antenatal check-ups.

Eva earns a small income...

from selling health-care products, such as insecticide-treated bed nets, contraception and some over-the-counter medicines. For serious cases, she refers patients to health facilities.

Eva has had a profound impact on members of her surrounding community, including...

fifty-two year old Darini Saleha from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, who has suffered from a relentless case of Tuberculosis since 2008. Saleha attempted to cure the disease with a 6-month course of medicine to no avail. Then BRAC CHP, Eva, came to visit her. “Eva visited my house and I told her everything about my health condition - that I am suffering from cough, body pain, lack of appetite, fever and weight loss. She advised me to get my blood tested at the hospital”, Saleha said. She was found positive for HIV. Now Eva visits her every day and supervises her medicine intake. “I am happy to see Eva visit my house and I also appreciate how she is raising awareness in the community regarding HIV”, Saleha said.

Thanks to a collection of CHPs like Eva...

BRAC Tanzania has made significant achievements in the health sector in 2010, including:

• 479,473 people, mainly in rural areas, attended 41,578 health forums and meetings;
• 63,264 suspected malaria cases and 3,127 suspected TB cases were successfully referred to hospitals for treatment; and
• 1.5 million Tanzanian men, women, and children were served by 1,716 Community Health Promoters, 587 of whom were trained in 2010.