The Ministry of Agriculture through the Department of Animal Health in collaboration with a consortium of organizations against rabies is implementing One health project to combat rabies in Malawi. One of the major activities through which rabies is to be controlled is through dog vaccination. Research shows that a 70% vaccination rate could highly contribute towards the elimination of the disease. However, Malawi’s vaccination rate has been very low and therefore still lagging behind the required target.
Art and Global Health Centre Africa (ArtGlo) harnesses the transformative power of arts to engage communities on various issues concerning their lives, particularly health. To support the consortium with methods that would contribute to the increased vaccination rate, ArtGlo trained 3 drama groups in Theatre for Development (TfD) to sensitize and mobilize communities on dogs’ vaccination against rabies in Balaka district. The 3 drama clubs were selected from Utale, Ulongwe-Kalembo, and Bizale Extension Planning Areas (EPAs) based on their TFD knowledge.
Having observed their TFD weak areas, the training focused on improving their capacity to facilitate meaningful community engagement during a performance. The training content included research, scene development, Miming, opening up technicalities and its purpose as well as facilitation of community action plans.
The training session commenced with information on rabies. The information shared with the drama clubs includes what rabies is, transmission from dog to dog as well as humans, signs and symptoms, and prevention strategies. Some of the drama club members had an idea of what rabies is. They shared their experiences and knowledge of the disease and indicated that they were aware that it is not treatable when the symptoms prevail.
The drama club members performed plays in their respective areas informed by the research that they conducted to assess community knowledge about the disease with a key focus on finding out why there is a low vaccination rate. Apart from reaching out to a cumulative total of 771 community members, the TfD performances were also attended by local chiefs, religious leaders, Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs), and Village Development Committee (VDC) leaders.
It is worth noting that the drama club members managed to facilitate community action plans without the intervention of the trainers. This shows that they are now not only able to sensitize their communities on rabies but also shift practices towards vaccine acceptance and increase the number of dogs vaccinated in the 2024 campaign. Utale Club managed to facilitate All four community action plans, Ulongwe and Bizale facilitated 2 each while the rest of the plans were supplementary and agreed upon during a post-performance session with community stakeholders.
