Community leaders play a vital role in promoting healthy behaviours. Their influence makes them key players in strengthening malaria prevention efforts within communities.
It is in this context that certain leaders have distinguished themselves through the Équité Accès Palu (EAP) initiative, implemented in the health districts of Maroua 3, Mokolo, Mifi and Doumé.
In Doumé, one of the most striking examples is that of the Imam of the Grand Mosque, an influential religious figure who is committed to promoting good practices in the fight against malaria in support of the efforts of the National Malaria Control Programme (PNLP).
To ensure the continuity of this commitment, the CSO ADES, a partner of Impact Santé Afrique in the Eastern Region, recently paid a working visit to the Imam to review the work he is carrying out. It emerged from these discussions that, since September 2025, the Imam has been incorporating awareness-raising sessions on malaria prevention into his Friday sermons, thereby reaching hundreds of families every week.
At the end of the visit, the Imam expressed his satisfaction at his community’s growing interest in malaria-related issues, as well as the recognition of the vital role played by community leaders in this fight. To further strengthen his efforts, he requested ADES’s ongoing support for capacity building, particularly regarding malaria control measures and awareness-raising tools, in order to gradually expand his work to include home visits and reach the most vulnerable households in a more targeted manner.
