Overview of the Campaign
In Cocachacra, a collaborative effort between regional health authorities and local schools targets the dengue threat that often accompanies the rainy season. The initiative, led by the Gerencia Regional de Salud de Arequipa and supported by the Red de Salud Islay, seeks to empower young people with practical knowledge and hands-on skills to prevent dengue at home and within the wider community. By turning classrooms into engines of health literacy, the campaign aims to create lasting habits that reduce mosquito breeding sites and protect families.
Participating Schools
The sessions reached students from I.E. San Martín de Porres, I.E. Cristo Rey, and I.E. Estrella de Belén. Health workers emphasized that dengue prevention is a shared responsibility that extends beyond school walls. The program combines information with interactive activities to keep students engaged and motivated to become champions of health in their neighborhoods.
Active Learning Through Games and Dialogue
During the activities, learners explored how the Aedes aegypti mosquito lays eggs in standing water and how simple actions can disrupt the lifecycle. Through games, dynamic exercises, and guided dialogue, pupils learned to identify common mosquito breeding sites around homes—such as containers, tires, and other sources of standing water—and to take concrete steps to eliminate them. Practical demonstrations covered water storage practices, routine cleaning of containers and gutters, safe waste disposal, and the use of window and door screens where appropriate.
From Knowledge to Action
Educators stressed that knowledge must translate into everyday behavior. Students were encouraged to share what they learned with their families, demonstrate preventive routines at home, and motivate neighbors to assess their own houses and yards. The aim is for students to become multipliers who amplify the impact of the campaign beyond the classroom, strengthening community resilience against dengue.
Strategic Significance
The school-based activities form part of a broader Health Promotion strategy designed to reduce disease risk by elevating awareness and reinforcing vector control at the household level. By engaging youth, health authorities seek to cultivate a sustainable, community-wide culture of prevention that can persist long after the students graduate.
Looking Ahead
While the immediate focus is Cocachacra’s schools, the program is designed to be scalable to other communities within the Arequipa region. Officials plan to monitor outcomes through feedback from schools, changes in home practices, and observations of breeding site reductions near educational centers. If successful, the initiative could inspire additional school-led actions that contribute to a region-wide decline in dengue risk.
Conclusion
By equipping students with practical knowledge and empowering them to teach others, Cocachacra’s dengue prevention campaign demonstrates how targeted education, cross-sector collaboration, and youth engagement can drive meaningful improvements in community health and protect families from dengue fever.
