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Question: I am from a community in the Niger Delta Area of Nigeria that is currently under siege by militant agitators. Their activities have negatively impacted on the health care, environment and educational development of the area.
My question is what strategies can one deploy in getting manageable health care support, creation of a friendly environment and sustainable education to the community amongst other social/ economic needs. It's pretty sad to see your community being stagnated in poverty, economic activities shut down, pupils dropping out of schools, environments being devastated with hydrocarbon pollutants, inaccessible Medicare etc.
Answer:

Hello,

I am sorry to hear how difficult circumstances are where you live. While I do not have specific answers, I can guide you to some information in the Community Tool Box that may be helpful. This sounds like a situation where it is more important than ever for community members to come together to solve problems.

You might start by browsing Chapter 1 of the Community Tool Box, especially Section 7, Working Together for Healthy Communities, Section 8 on Lessons Learned on Community Change, and Section 9 which presents a framework for addressing community goals and problems.

Chapter 2 presents different models for promoting community health and development. As you browse through the models you may find something that might work in your own community.

Chapter 5 provides information on choosing strategies to promote community health and development.

I hope you find something that is helpful and that conditions where you are change soon.

Sincerely,

The Community Tool Box Advisor

Question Date: Tue, 03/07/2017