International health hazards
You’ll need
- Scrap paper
- Pens or pencils
- Access to the internet
- Access to a computer
Before you begin
International health issues don’t just include infectious diseases. Things like mental health and health complications due to air pollution count too. Major diseases to think about include malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. With more people travelling to other countries and living in crowded cities, it’s easier for germs to spread and for infectious diseases that start in one part of the world to quickly reach another. Resistance to medicines like antibiotics also makes some of them harder to treat.
- Air pollution – 91% of the world’s population don’t breathe safe air (according to the World Health Organisation guidelines) and one in nine deaths are said to be caused by air pollution. More information can be found on the World Health Organisation website. This topic could be explored for World Environment Day on 5 June.
- Ebola – the Ebola virus is a rare but serious illness, which is often fatal in humans. A large outbreak occurred in 2014/15, mainly in West Africa. It’s spread through blood or body fluids of a person or animal with the infection.
- HIV and AIDS – HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system and AIDS is a set of symptoms that happen at the very final stage of the HIV infection. There are a number of misconceptions about the virus and the causes and effects. Information can be found on the Terrence Higgins Trust website. This topic could be explored for World AIDS Day on 1 December.
- Malaria – a disease caused by parasites that are transmitted through the bites of infected mosquitoes. It can be tested for and treated, but without this it can be deadly. Information can be found on the Save the Children website. This topic could be explored for World Malaria Day on 25 April.
- Mental health – anyone in the world, regardless of their circumstances and where they live, can experience a mental health problem, and it’s a growing concern on a global level. This is thought to be a result of our growing disconnection from our families and communities, reducing our support networks, and the increased pressures on modern society. Why not introduce this topic using activities in the A Million Hands resources? This could be explored for World Mental Health Day on 10 October.
Incognito mosquito
- This game is all about the spread of malaria. Introduce the topic by asking if anyone knows anything about the disease. We’ve provided some information in ‘International health hazards’ to help you along.
- Play a few rounds of ‘Incognito mosquito’. Have everyone move to one end of the activity area. Take one person secretly to one side and inform them that they’re the mosquito carrying the disease. It’s that person’s job to do what a mosquito does and ‘bite’ other players by tagging them.
- Tell everyone else that they need to get from one side of the activity area to the other. If they’re tagged by someone, they should shout ‘Ow!’ and move to the side of the activity area. Continue until the mosquito and the last person are left, by which time the mosquito should be somewhat less incognito!
- Play again with more secret mosquitoes.
Research and share
- Everyone should now get into groups of three or four people, get a computer with internet access, paper and pens or pencils, then pick a global health issue to research. Groups should choose something that everyone is interested in knowing more about. For instance, they could look at malaria, Ebola or HIV/AIDS.
- A person in each group should draw the outline of a large tree on some paper, with roots, a trunk and branches. Write the health issue the group is studying on the trunk. Research the causes of the issue (for instance, the source of infection, like mosquito bites for malaria) and write these on the roots.
- Research the effects of the issue (for instance, the symptoms of a disease or how the issue affects communities). Write these on the branches.
- The tree artists should then draw some fruit on the ends of their branches. Researchers should find some solutions to the issues caused by the health threat (for instance, vaccinations, education or better hygiene). Write these on the fruit.
- Groups should now think of ways to feedback what they’ve learned in a creative way. They could share the information through a presentation or create some resources to teach others about the issue. Some other good ideas might be to: create a short skit, song or advert, prepare a quiz, make some art or think up a game.
- Have everyone give their presentations to the rest of the group.
Reflection
Everyone had to think creatively and work together to share what they’d learned. Knowledge is power in the fight against global health issues. As with any camp or trip outdoors, planning and preparation can make all the difference. How did it feel being responsible for sharing this serious information in a more informal way? This is important, as it’s easier for everyone to engage with a fun game or laugh at a funny skit, than it is to absorb lots of facts and figures. It may be that we actually take more useful information from the former than from the latter.
The spread of disease and other health hazards is a really serious topic and can be really scary, but even in difficult circumstances people around the world can use quirky and funny ideas and videos to educate the public and each other on how to stay safe. What was it like to share what you’d found out about a serious issue from one citizen to another? It should’ve felt great, as it’s really helpful to carefully research and share information that can help others.
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
- Active games
The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.
- Online safety
Supervise young people when they’re online and give them advice about staying safe. Take a look at our online safety or bullying guidance. The NSPCC offers more advice and guidance, too. If you want to know more about specific social networks and games, Childnet has information and safety tips for apps. You can also report anything that’s worried you online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. As always, if you’ve got concerns about a young person’s welfare, including their online experiences, follow the Yellow Card to make a report.
In the first game you can change the number of people playing mosquitos or the size of the playing area to make it more or less difficult. You could also ‘vaccinate’ some players with mosquito nets or malaria prevention medication, so that they cannot be caught for one run.
Fancy making it a wide game? Hide your mosquito nets and malaria medication around the playing area for players to find as they try to escape the mosquitoes for the allotted time.
Anyone uncomfortable speaking in front of people shouldn’t be made to do so, and should be given a different role in the performance element of this part of the activity. They could also share in smaller groups.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
The group could try making a hand-washing device that they could use on camp. This could count towards the Scouts Camper Activity Badge, Scouts Pioneer Activity Badge or the Scouts Outdoor Challenge Award. As an example, you can find information on how to build a tippy tap from Water Aid, or try out building a mini version in our Tiny tippy taps activity.
Everyone was able to choose to research a global issue that mattered to them.