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#HEALTH: Promoting health literacy among indigenous communities

PROJECT Healthy Futures, organised by Chevening Alumni Malaysia, managed to address health disparities and create health awareness among community members in an Orang Asli village recently.

The primary focus of this project was to provide health education on the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and Speech-Language Development (SLD) amongst the Orang Asli.

Funded by the Chevening Alumni Programme Fund under the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, this project was a collaboration with National Cancer Society Malaysia and Malaysian Association of Speech-Language and Hearing to provide services to marginalised communities.

The village that was selected for these services was Kampung Orang Asli Batu 6, Tapah, Perak.

"Our goal was to empower indigenous communities to take charge of their health through culturally tailored education and active community involvement. By engaging local leaders in developing health materials, we ensured that our messages on HPV vaccination and child development truly resonated and were trusted by the community," says Chevening Alumni member under the health sector hub Devi Shantini Rata Mohan.

Devi, a Chevening 2018 scholar, adds that with the support of the Chevening Alumni Project Fund and a diverse network of professionals, they were able to create meaningful, culturally resonant content for the community.

"The success of Project Healthy Futures highlights the power of collaboration. From Chevening alumni to local influencers, each partner played a role in making health information accessible and relevant, showing that health equity is achievable when communities are heard and supported," says Devi.

Volunteers organised a co-design workshop with the community leader of the selected village, Tok Batin Fadzil Arom, involving several key community members.

Through discussions, education materials that reflected the nuances and needs of the local community were curated. By understanding community structures and modes of communication used within the community, the education materials that were created were disseminated to address HPV vaccine hesitancy and gaps in child development awareness.

Interactive talks, educational games for adults and children, and cancer screening, HPV vaccination and SLD screening were also included.

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