TASC’s landmark Bangladesh injury prevention program was comprehensively reviewed by an internal working group comprised of TASC, Centre for Injury Prevention & Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) and UNICEF’s Bangladesh Health office staff in July 2007, with some very promising results.
The internal review of PRECISE was undertaken almost a year after the implementation of key elements of the project, including survival swimming lessons for children and the opening of day care facilities to cater for 1-5 year olds for four hours each day.
The review found there is already evidence that the mothers leading the crèches were sharing important safety information with the parents of attending children which is improving childrens’ safety at home.
The crèches are also being recognized by parents in the community as a way of better preparing children for school, with children who have attended the crèche performing better than children who have not.
Almost 4000 children aged 1-5 are already attending 203 crèches set up by the project. The program is so popular, that should additional funding become available, another 100 crèches could be established and the programme expects they would be fully subscribed.
The swimming program has also been widely embraced by the Bangladesh community, with the target of 15,000 children trained in survival swimming expected to be met by the end of the current season. The program is currently working with children aged 4-10 with no swimming skills. Almost 6000 children were taught survival swimming by January 2007.
A review of the data showed that lives had already been saved in the three areas where the swimming program was conducted: Raiganj, Sherpur and Manchardi. In the relevant period, statistically seven children out of the almost 6000 children would have been expected to have drowned. None did.
Other aspects of the project are progressing well, including the implementation of the “safe school” curriculum. Over 370 schools will be implementing the curriculum over the next 12 months.
Background on PRECISE
Prevention of Child Injuries through Social-intervention and Education (PRECISE) is the largest community based injury intervention programme ever initiated in the developing countries. It has been implemented in three rural and one urban community in Bangladesh. A total population of 800,000 is coverage by the project.
PRECISE includes three main components: Home Safety Programme, School Safety Programme, and Community Safety Programme. A unique Injury Surveillance System records changes in injury patterns as a critical monitoring tool for all aspect of the project.
The two main objectives of the project are: to develop and implement injury prevention packages applicable to the home, schools, and within the communities; and to evaluate the effectiveness of these intervention for cost and large scale application. The goal of the project is to reduce child and parental mortality, morbidity and disability due to injuries by developing and implementing comprehensive prevention programmes that can be reproduced in a cost effective manner. |
