This initiative uses an entertaining type of media - a radio drama - in an effort to educate, motivate, and demonstrate to listeners issues related to malaria and other childhood illnesses, as well as reproductive health, particularly family planning and HIV/AIDS. The show is a component of a multi-channel approach that includes both the “He Ha Ho” drama and a magazine show, which are together designed to send messages to mothers and caretakers, informing them about how to appropriately care for children with malaria. Organisers hope that, by developing synergy among various RBM interventions, the overall ability of caregivers to recognise and respond appropriately to malaria will be strengthened.

Children, Health.

According to organisers, malaria is the cause of one of every five deaths in children under age five. The high death rate from malaria is due to a number of factors, but chief among them is improper or incomplete treatment. About three-quarters of malaria cases in Ghana are treated at home or in the community, yet only 22% of current home-based treatments are correct and complete. In this context, the He Ha Ho initiative aims to increase the ability of mothers and caretakers to correctly and completely treat malaria by:

• recognising fever as a symptom of malaria;
• giving a full three-day course of chloroquine at the appropriate dose;
• recognising signs of severe malaria (such as fever that lasts for more than two days despite treatment, convulsions, copious vomiting, difficulty breathing, stiff neck, excessive sleepiness, and dark-colored urine); and
• getting a child with any severe signs of malaria immediately to the nearest health facility.