African Youth Alliance, based in Cameroon, is led by Roseline and her team were just beginning their work on the Five Keys in Five Villages project at the start of this year before they had to pivot and regroup to address the needs imposed by the spread of COVID-19. This 2-year project was designed exclusively by AYA and the villages, to prove and track how each of the five keys overlaps and impacts each other. Through regular meetings to share findings and resources, they plan to offer a comprehensive review of why funding locally-led initiatives is the key to progress. The following is an edited excerpt from an interim report.
"The village of Tumuku was assigned the key of Maternal and Reproductive Health. With the support of a community volunteer, the nurse had detailed discussion sessions with the groups in Tumuku village on the following topics to make sure that the members understood these topics: reproductive health, family planning, and general hygiene. With respect to reproductive health, she defined both terms, reproduction and health, for the group to understand them separately before highlighting the difference between the reproductive health of a female and a male. The group was able to freely talk about issues relating to females, such as breast and hip development and menstruation, and how they noticed a change in their muscles, deep voice, development of axillary and facial hairs for males. The women and girls were urged to practice safe sex with the right person as well as carry out regular medical checks in order to ensure they were in good health. Family planning was also defined during the brainstorming session, and a detailed explanation was given on the different methods of birth control including the natural method, a condom, pills, withdrawal method, and tubal ligation. Breastfeeding was discussed. The practices of good personal hygiene and to have a balanced diet for healthy living were encouraged. To round up the group lectures, the nurse educated the women and girls in attendance on basic and necessary hygienic measures, such as hand washing before and after meals or a visit to the toilet, washing of the head/face, taking a bath at least once or twice daily and when you do hard labor to avoid the use of bleaching agent on your body as it will remove melanin. It is worth noting that these activities were very educational and important because it built a foundation of knowledge for the women and girls to care for themselves in order to continue to stay healthy during this latest crisis of COVID-19."