Care Flyer: Pandemic Influenza - Protect Your Household

Offered by the Humanitarian Pandemic Preparedness (H2P) Initiative, this 2-page flyer features illustrations and messages designed to communicate basic ways to prevent pandemic influenza. It is part of a series of low-literacy communication tools designed to be used in interpersonal communication at district and community levels. Specifically, the flyer details the following:

Cover: Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or cloth when you cough or sneeze; cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow.

Clean: Wash your hands often with soap and water; use soap and water to clean surfaces that are touched by a person with the flu; have the sick person wash his or her hands often.

Care: Create a separate space to take care of the sick person, at least 2 meters away from others in the household; have the sick person wear a mask or cloth over his or her mouth and nose; give the sick person plenty to drink and eat so that he or she does not become dehydrated; pay attention to announcements from local leaders, radio and television, or hotlines to keep up to date on what actions you should take.

Call: Call or visit a health care facility only if you have serious problems such as trouble breathing, chest pain, severe vomiting or diarrhoea, lips and face turning blue, and/or shaking that cannot be controlled.

Also included here is the instruction to visit the H2P Initiative website for further information.

Launched in 2007 by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the H2P Initiative is an effort to reduce the risk of excess mortality from an influenza pandemic in over 25 countries with a focus on humanitarian coordination and community-level preparedness. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the overall coordinating agency, with participation by the CORE Group, InterAction, and AI.COMM (managed by the Academy for Educational Development, or AED). The United Nations (UN) agencies focus on national-level planning with governments and official technical and operational guidance around pandemic influenza.