Published on 23/07/2022

ENDA Santé and COSYDEP launch the EduSaMu project

Friday, July 21, 2022 - The NGOs ENDA Santé and COSYDEP have just launched the project entitled "Education and Health Mobilized in Emergency Situations" (EduSaMu) in Mbour. Funded by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), this project is being implemented jointly by the two organizations in the 14 regions of Senegal for a period of 30 months.

Chaired by the Minister of Employment, Vocational Training and Integration, Mr. Dame Diop, this meeting, which was attended by professional organizations from the health and national education sectors as well as members of civil society, aimed to mobilize education and health stakeholders in order to create the conditions for a successful implementation of the project. The opportunity was thus taken to present the EduSaMu project and to ensure its appropriation by the actors.

Prepare these professional organizations to deal with health emergencies 

Designed to prepare health and education actors to deal with health emergencies such as COVID-19, this project aims to strengthen the resilience of health and education professional organizations to health emergencies by developing tools, resources and innovative local responses, while contributing to the reduction of the vulnerability of education and health professionals on the front line during health crises. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the specific needs of workers in these two sectors whose health, social and psychological protection is rarely adapted to the demands and constraints of emergency situations. El Cantara Sarr, Secretary General of the Union of Education and Training Inspectors of Senegal, recalls in this regard "the heavy toll paid by teachers during COVID-19. Health and education professionals are not subject to the principle of flexibility given the requirement of continuity of services, they are obliged to work to meet the needs of the population and this situation makes them particularly vulnerable.

This project is therefore a response to a complex situation, insofar as, according to the Executive Director of ENDA Santé, "it prepares these professional organizations to deal with health emergencies," especially since "we are not immune to other health emergencies," adds Mr. Daouda Diouf.

The Minister of Employment, Vocational Training and Integration, Dame Diop, is pleased with the health/education partnership, which he believes should inspire other sectors.

I welcome this relevant initiative against the multiform crises, which no single sector can face. My support and my accompaniment to the implementation of this project are acquired.

Breaking down silos to build bridges between the health and education sectors

By deciding to work jointly with health and education actors, ENDA Santé and COSYDEP are breaking down the barriers between these two sectors in order to create bridges to help meet the challenges of security, health and environmental risks, etc.

In the long run, this partnership will greatly contribute to improving the resilience of the actors and to strengthening them so that they can be bearers of innovations. But also indicates the Executive Director of COSYDEP, it will allow to build spaces for dialogue and sharing of good practices between education and health.

The health and education actors, beyond their function, can with this project play a role of accompaniment, sensitization and communication with the populations they serve.

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