Exploring community participation in a diarrhoea prevention program in Kanyama, Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract

The program that was studied is part of the Child Health Program devised and supported by CARE International and implemented in Kanyama, a high density and low cost community found on the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia. Diarrhoea was identified as one of the three most common diseases affecting the children under the age of five years. Through community participation, the program was implemented by the Kanyama residents to reduce the cases of diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia among children aged five years and under. The main aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of the impact of community participation by the community leaders and community members in the diarrhoea prevention program and to establish constraints affecting participation.