We Boost Health. We Build Hope. We Save Lives.
Impact
MSG waged war on the spread of preventable and treatable diseases over ten years ago, and we continue to fight battles every day. Why? Because we believe that the right to clean water and good health is a prerequisite for all other human rights. In just five years, we have already:
- We have reached more than 350,000 people with in-person health education and millions more through our media platforms, especially social media, radio shows, and our health hotline.
- In a single year, we reached over 1,900 people through our Disease Prevention Centers and 7,500 participants through our Outreach programming at markets, restaurants and businesses.
- We have witnessed 85% of our WASH education participants commit to changing their water, sanitation, and hygiene behaviors at home.
- We have reached over 3,000 female and male students through our health clubs, providing them with menstrual and reproductive education. Female participants have received female hygiene materials, so they can stay in school while menstruating. These girls and boys, in turn, were inspired to lead change in their schools and communities through peer-to-peer teaching and by inviting their female guardians to communal meals to educate them.
- We handed out over 20,000 health education leaflets in 2021 alone to teach about disease transmission and preventing disease through behavioral change in home routines.
- We have contributed to preventing new cholera outbreaks in the Rorya District after partnering with the government in 2015 and 2016 to stop the spread of highly infectious cholera epidemics.
Measuring the Impact of Health Education
To prove the impact of our health education, MSG conducted annual health screenings for five years, testing for malaria, amoebas, intestinal worms, and schistosomiasis (bilharzia). As indicated by the chart, we found a consistent pattern: People who have been exposed to MSG’s WASH education are healthier than those who have not received such education, and when MSG is running programs in a community, overall public health improves. It was MSG’s honor to be at the center of this huge public health service in collaboration with the Rorya District Medical Office and under the leadership of the Shirati KMT District Hospital.