Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya Prevention Toolkits

"We invite all partners within and outside the Movement to adapt and use these materials to empower your communities with the knowledge, skills and behaviour necessary to reduce vector-borne disease transmission for healthier and happier communities."

In the battle against diseases like Zika, dengue, and chikungunya (ZDC), knowledge is power. This is the belief motivating the Red Cross / Red Crescent Climate Centre (RCClimate) to create these prevention toolkits, which include teaching guides and educational activities for communities and schools. They were developed to initiate long-term engagement and start conversations with communities at risk on how to prevent, reduce, and treat diseases posed by Aedes mosquitoes. The resources include:

• The community module is intended for volunteers teaching and coaching adults (ages 17 +) about the transmission, symptoms, treatment, and prevention methods to address ZDC. It is comprised of 5 topics which RCClimate advises teaching in sequential order for maximum effect. The included tools, talking points, and activities are designed to allow volunteers to teach communities in an interactive way about how ZDC is transmitted, how to prevent mosquito bites and reduce mosquito populations through community action and social and behaviour change techniques, and what to do if a community thinks they may have contracted ZDC. The materials also address stigma associated with ZDC and help to set a supportive environment for preventing disease as a collective group through ongoing community action.
• The school / youth module is intended for volunteers, educators, and peer educators teaching children from ages 7-16 in a school or youth club setting about the transmission, symptoms, treatment, and prevention methods to address ZDC. This module is comprised of 5 topics which should be taught in sequential order. The included tools, talking points, and activities are designed to allow children to learn in an interactive way about how ZDC is transmitted, how to prevent mosquito bites and reduce mosquito populations through collective school community action and social and behaviour change techniques, and what to do if a child suspects that she or he or a family member thinks they may have contracted ZDC. The materials also address stigma associated with ZDC and help to set a supportive environment for preventing disease as a collective group through ongoing school community action.
• The toolkit is intended to be used with the ZDC prevention modules. It features full-colour imagery, interactive formats, and games material to teach all audiences according to the methodology suggested in the module guides. All materials can be printed in colour or black/white and are of high resolution for those national International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) Societies wishing to enlarge and print posters and banners for other uses in their ZDC prevention activities.