Children beat beetle disease

Chagas disease is spread by the Vinchuca beetle and threatens 70% of the population of Bolivia. It remains incurable in adults and no-one is safe, although people living in poverty are the most at risk.

Children take the initiative

Plan teach children to prevent Chagas with model houses

The Bolivian journalist Mónica Oblitas reported from one of the areas that Plan is working in.
 
"Churicana (Chuquisaca) is the first community to receive me. With temperatures soaring above 30 at midday, a puppet theatre is being set up with its main character being an enormous sponge Vinchuca beetle that is hated by the children.

"Through play, it is hoped that the children and their families can understand and change their knowledge, attitudes and practices related to their housing and endemic diseases, especially Chagas. Miguel, Regional Coordinator for the Chagas Program and others working alongside him believe the children will beat Chagas.

"They are learning that animals should not sleep alongside people, that each room has its specific use and that the Vinchuca beetle, in contrast to what their grandparents believed, does not bring good luck or money but rather death and disease, and not just to the poorest.

"The intensive education programme includes workshops with children, adolescents, young people, school teachers, health workers from the municipality and inhabitants of the communities where the housing improvements will be carried out.

"The programme also includes regular training to promote better communication among community members and to increase understanding of the difficulties that communities face. They will know when, how and with whom to talk, which is essential to gaining the trust of the communities.

"What is most satisfying for us is seeing the children understanding the need to eradicate the Vinchucas and teaching basic hygiene to their parents," said Miguel. "We want the Chagas control and prevention programme to be included in the school curriculum."

What is Plan doing?

23,000 families have benefited from the programme

Plan is making children aware of Chagas so that communities can confront and eliminate this plague. The children play an important role in the process, not only because they need to be treated when they are infected, but also because they are easier to educate in the prevention of the disease and so they can promote change within their family and community.

The Chagas Disease Control Programme (PROPLAN) is based on the experiences of Plan and Pro Habitat (a local organisation) and has so far benefited over 23,000 families (approximately 111,000 people), alongside being recognised by the United Nations as an innovation in the habitat area.

Through pioneering work, Plan is also expanding the number of children who can be treated for Chagas, developing an effective and safe protocol to treat children up to 12 years of age.

Plan is one of the few organisations providing treatment in rural areas and is working with the government to help train a further 9,000 families in Chagas prevention, including home improvement and behavior change, over the next five and a half years.

What Plan has achieved so far:

• The methodology used by PROPLAN has been tried and tested on a large scale and has been successful in fighting Chagas disease
• Vinchuca infestations around houses have dropped from 68% to 5% after home improvement
• The ratio of Vinchucas per person has dropped from 9.5 to 0.7
• Over 80% of the residents now regularly clean their house, keep the animals outside and have changed their habits
• PROPLAN improved 11,250 houses between 2000 and 2004, where houses were fumigated
• 2000 children below the age of 12 have been treated for Chagas
• Infected mothers of children below the age of 1 are constantly monitored