Stars and STEM Stories
GLOBE Vietnam Zika Education and Prevention Project Trainings “Push the Edge of Citizen Science Impact”
Mosquito Training Workshop at Chuong My, Hanoi; December 2019
Over the course of two years, GLOBE Vietnam conducted various Country Mosquito Trainings (CMTs) and Local Mosquito Workshop (LMWs) in connection with the GLOBE Zika Education and Prevention Project. Over 260 teachers have been trained, and the country has contributed thousands of unique data points.
“GLOBE Vietnam participated and implement the GLOBE Zika Education and Prevention Program in the country under the title, ‘GLOBE: Engaging Citizens in the Forecasting and Observation of Mosquito Threats,” Linh Phan, Country Coordinator, Vietnam, said.
“The main mission is pushing the edge of citizen science impact, and aiming to enlist thousands of student and teacher’s community leaders to collect data on mosquito for the global mapping project.”
“The project has created a wide network of schools/organizations and public health officials in the country to maintain changes in individual and community behaviour, and limit the spread of disease. The project has impacted development and has strengthened the networks of public health officials, GLOBE Country Coordinators, and teachers and students through collecting important data to track mosquitoes and fight mosquito-borne disease – and helping communities in eliminating mosquito breeding sites!”
Practicing the identification of larvae
“The project provided opportunity to create awareness among the participants regarding vector-borne diseases, and to also promote the GLOBE Zika Education and Prevention Program in the country on a mass scale by involving school students, teachers, public health officials, as well as community member
participants during the LMWs”
“School children between the age of eight and fourteen are very much interested in the hands-on approach of the training program so that they can inform families and local community about potential mosquito breading sites. participating teachers also stated that the children, after the Mosquito Habitat Mapper MHM) training were keen on finding the mosquito larvae breading sites in the schools, as well as in their local community.”
“It encouraged and motivated other participants on the use of The GLOBE Program’s app, GLOBE Observer MHM tool, and how it can play a role in mitigating these vector-borne diseases (VBDs) through the GLOBE MHM tool by locating the breeding sites in their community and creating awareness about the threat of VBDs,” Linh Phan said.
“The project has inspired GLOBE students to conduct mosquito-related research and engage their local communities in understanding the ways Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases are transmitted, and what actions they can take to stay healthy.”
“GLOBE Vietnam will take steps, including increasing community awareness, to continue and strengthen the connection between data collection and data usage by local public health departments – and finding funding source in the country to support more community training.”
Star Story submitted by Linh Phan, GLOBE Vietnam Country Coordinator.