The inkling of “leaving no one behind” emphasizes how crucial it is to guarantee that all persons, regardless of background, circumstance, or location, have access to basic needs like healthcare. What comes to mind during provoking thoughts on how to implement this principle is whether or not people truly understand what constitutes healthcare and healthy living.
In order to effectuate this principle, health education is vital.
Health education as a tool equips people with the knowledge they need to make wise decisions about their health. Health education empowers individuals to take control of their own health and encourages them to seek medical attention when necessary. By providing access to healthcare and health education, we can work towards achieving the goal of “leaving no one behind”.
People’s health is indeed a product of what they know (one way or the other).
It is essential to consider the level of knowledge of people on critical health issues when designing policies and practices in the health system, particularly in Africa where evidence has indicated lower coverage of health information on germane issues. One of the dolorous effects of COVID-19 is that the pandemic highlighted the vital importance of health education in stopping the virus’s spread. To educate the public about the virus, its symptoms, and ways to stop its spread, governments and health organizations all over the world heavily relied on health education campaigns. These campaigns utilized various media channels, such as social media, television, and radio, to reach a wider audience and disseminate important information about the virus. As a result, many people became more aware of the importance of handwashing, wearing masks, and social distancing in preventing the spread of infectious diseases.
The prevention of the spread of Covid-19 in Africa was greatly aided by health education. Massive awareness campaigns were launched to inform the public about the risks posed by the virus and how to stop its spread using a variety of media platforms, including radio, television, and social media. To reach people in rural and remote areas, where access to information was limited, community health workers catalyzed the spread of information about coronavirus among the people they care for. They dismissed the myths that characterized the days of lockdown and the widespread dissemination of fake news about the pandemic. These community health workers also played a crucial role in educating people about preventive measures such as handwashing, wearing masks, and social distancing, which helped slow the spread of the virus in these areas. Their efforts were instrumental in reducing the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable populations. This was done using health education.
The Covid-19 pandemic, however, also highlighted the knowledge gaps regarding other pathogens that are still poorly understood in African communities; urban and rural. In many African nations, for instance, diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria continue to be serious problems. These are ailments heavily increasing the burden on the African health systems. Despite the fact that these illnesses have been around for a while, many people still don’t have a fundamental understanding of their causes, symptoms, and prevention. The spread of these diseases has been aided by this ignorance and lack of awareness, which has led to high mortality rates and lowered life expectancy in the affected areas. In order to address this public health crisis, education and awareness-raising initiatives about these illnesses are essential.
Policies and practices in the health system (in Africa) must take into account the level of knowledge that the populace has in relation to critical health issues, particularly in the case of diseases that have been disregarded because of ignorance.
Health education programs should be designed to address both current health problems that continue to have an impact on people’s lives as well as novel ailments like Covid-19. Such initiatives must bring governments (at all levels), health organizations and community leaders together in order to ensure that the people are educated in a manner that is accurate and culturally appropriate. Additionally, reinvesting in healthcare workers’ education and training programs can raise the general level of health literacy in the population, as they are critical actors in accentuating the information available to the people.
If we must leave no one behind, we must educate everyone. We must ensure that information on how to live healthy lives is not only available within the line of academic/solution-focused research articles or on high-profile websites, they should be available at the community meeting and market squares across the divergent regions of the African continent. Mechanisms deployed in beefing up the reach of health education and information about coronavirus should be employed in accentuating the knowledge of the communities about HIV/Aids, Malaria, Tuberculosis, Hypertension and other ailments with limited information among the people.