Health Promotion

Fieldset

Health Promotion

Health promotion means providing people with information and advice on good health practices, treatment and care. For example, it can include advice on how to stop the spread of diseases, ensure a child gets the right nutrition, or help someone get swift medical care when they need it.

Activities might include health promoters giving a talk in person; sharing messages through the media (e.g. radio) or online; or using stories, songs and plays.

Because health promotion has the potential to make a lasting impact on a community’s health, it’s a vital part of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF)’s work.

Catherine Mezie

Health Promoter

Meet the team supporting families affected by Lassa Fever in Nigeria

In Ebonyi State, MSF health promotion teams are raising awareness of Lassa fever, a viral haemorrhagic fever which, untreated, can be fatal. But the work doesn't stop there, as Catherine Mezie explains...

08 Dec 2021 / 5 minute read

Health promotion staff speaking to displaced people in Borno State

Dogara Yohana

Health Promoter

Blood and community: How health promotion is saving lives in Nigeria

Medical teams in Ngala were facing a major shortage of blood donors, with serious consequences. Health promoter Dogara Yohana explains how his team set out to help...

24 Aug 2021 / 6 minute read

Alice Higginson

Health Promoter

Working with the Yezidi in the time of COVID-19: Part One

Health promotion specialist Alice recently returned from assignment in Iraq, where she was part of a team offering vital medical services to local people, many of whom have lived through decades of violence. She writes…

01 Mar 2021 / 4 minute read

Conditions in a camp for people displaced by armed conflict in Benue state, Nigeria

John Asema

Health Promoter

"We are here to save lives": health promotion in Nigerian IDP camps

Every minute, 20 people are forcibly displaced as a result of conflict or persecution, fleeing their homes and villages for the safety of camps. However, they are not out of harm's way once in these camps, where unsanitary conditions and unsafe practices pose a serious risk to their health. That's where health promoter supervisor John and his team come in...

21 Nov 2019 / 5 minute read

Elizabeth Wait

Health Promoter

Let's talk about sex: STIs, stigma and South Sudan

Imagine striking up a conversation about sexually transmitted diseases with a stranger in a public place. Now imagine doing this in a foreign country with unfamiliar languages and cultural practices. Health promoter Elizabeth learns South Sudan is full of surprises...

20 Nov 2019 / 5 minute read

The health promotion team in Bentiu, South Sudan

Elizabeth Wait

Health Promoter

A small army of anthropologists

Could you talk to a stranger about something as sensitive as family planning? How about doing it in a marketplace or while waiting in line? British health promoter Elizabeth shares how a team in South Sudan are reshaping health education...

11 Jul 2019 / 6 minute read

The MSF team involved in the hepatitis C screening

Tassawar Ali

Health Promoter

"We don't leave anyone behind": Fighting hepatitis in Pakistan

If you were infected with hepatitis C, would you realise? Most people don't, and that's a real problem in Machar Colony, Pakistan, where many people have no idea that they're living with the virus. Meet the team determined to change that, and to save lives in the process...

20 Mar 2019 / 5 minute read

Nance Cunningham

Health Promoter

What is a health promoter?

What exactly is health promotion? Canadian Nance Cunningham – a flying health promoter – explains the impact of this vital role while on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF), training teams in Pakistan.

13 Dec 2018 / 4 minute read

Nance Cunningham

Health Promoter

Health promotion in Pakistan: Patchwork

How can you plan to serve a community if you don't know how many people live there? Nance is in Pakistan, where she's working for Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) as a health promoter. Today, she explains why Google Maps, sticky tape, and a lot of patience has been crucial to the team's work...

01 May 2018 / 5 minute read

Izzy Scott Moncrief

Health Promoter

(Not all) Doctors Without Borders

Izzy is a health promoter from the UK. She's out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where she and the team are working to prevent outbreaks of disease...

19 Jan 2018 / 8 minute read