Peer educators sensitizing people during a community event.

CDFU provides strategic communication support focusing on network based community mobilization and Behavior Change utilizing peer educators (also known as Popular Opinion Leaders in some communities). The peer educators are selected by the community. They usually belong to some network and are therefore able to pass on information to peers.

The objective of the peer education intervention is to bring about significant and sustained positive change in behaviours and practices through the efforts of peer educators who encourage positive change. They further promote use of specific health products and services among groups of peers.

CDFU develops training guides specifically designed to empower peer educators with skills and knowledge to: initiate discussions with peers in communities, use social events and “conversational” approaches to talk about health issues and mobilize people for individual and social change. Our experience has shown that interpersonal communication is powerful in stimulating behaviour change among individuals and the communities they live in.

The process involves working with districts to select community based organizations to partner with so they can monitor and directly supervise the activities; meetings with the community to select the peer educators; training of trainers to build capacity at the district level and training of the community volunteers. The innovation of working through existing community structures addresses sustainability and ownership of the intervention. Our approach emphasizes use of informal interactions in order to provide information and skills necessary for one’s well-being.

Who is a Peer Educator?

A peer educator is an ordinary person selected from already existing social networks in a community like: Village Health Teams, farmers’ groups, women groups and Post Test Clubs. In other cases, people respected as “opinion” leaders can also be selected as peer educators.

Characteristics of a good Peer educator

A peer educator should be;

• A good listener and communicator
• An advocate of health and development issues
• A role model in the community
• A trusted source of information within the community and respected by the community because they benefit from the person’s experience and knowledge
• Approachable and talks to other community members
• Willing to work as an unpaid volunteer because he/she values contributing to the community
• A resident of the specific area of intervention

Why is Peer Education important?

Peers are very successful in passing on information because people identify with them. Their peers also consider them as credible sources of information. Peer education has allowed free discussion of sensitive matters in communities especially on health issues. It is empowering for those involved because they develop leadership skills, gain respect of their peers, and improve their own knowledge base and skills. It is an efficient and sustainable way of reinforcing learning through already existing networks in the communities.

Margaret’s  Story

Margaret says she was very delighted to be selected as a peer educator because she is interested in programmes that help her community. She mobilizes her community for health and development issues, in addition to her responsibilities as a house wife and mother.

“Talking to my community members about health issues has not interrupted my other duties because I do that whenever I get chance. The health issues we talk about are everyone’s concern.” explains Margaret. She admits that her family has also benefited a lot. She says after the training, she managed to talk to her 19 year old daughter about the challenges of HIV and reproductive health. “I also find it easy to discuss health issues with my husband. He has ‘confessed’ that I changed my way of looking at things after the peer educator training,” she adds.

Margaret has discussed with fellow women the importance of timing and spacing births. She also talks about prevention of malaria among other health topics. She uses opportunities like attending church services and group meetings to talk to her peers. Women have called her to talk to them about family planning and their major concerns are around myths, misconceptions and side effects. On some occasions, she uses the radio to pass on messages.

Margaret lives in an area near a slum with unhygienic conditions. She says many of her community members take infections like HIV “for granted” and are not aware of the available health services. She has taken on the role of helping direct her community members to services; “When I talk to my neighbours and friends about the health issues and refer them for services, I feel I am rendering a very important service to the community” Margaret says with a smile. She is happy to be a helpful person in her community.

For her, it has been over 15 years’ of voluntary work so people in the community appreciate what she does. 

How behavior change is achieved

Our experience has revealed that the peer educators decide to practice what they advise others to do. Many of them have made some positive changes that they also encourage their peers to adopt. In other cases, some people have been able to change their behaviors and practices after receiving correct information from the peer educators. Sometimes, information is passed on to members of a group who after trying out new behaviours, promote them among their peers.

NOTE: Margaret is a pseudo name