Ciclope innovations in rural communication : reaching the unreachable villages in Mexico

This report describes a highly successful oral rehydration therapy (ORT) education program implemented in the states of Hidalgo and Veracruz by Ciclope, a local consulting group with a unique track record in medical and anthropological research among indigenous people. Research prior to program implementation indicated that in Hidalgo the number of deaths from dehydration increased in direct relation to the distance of the communities from the municipal center, while the majority of diarrheaa-related deaths in Veracruz occurred in areas which harbored the state"s largest indigenous populations. In both states ORT use rates were very low, even in municipal centers. Through a technique that drew on many educational media, that of radio dramas, comic books, training of health auxiliaries, and innovative market presentations (including lottery games, prizes, and the distribution of rehydration salts), this program succeeded in educating a very receptive but hard-to-reach indigenous population. Beyond the program"s immediate beneficiaries, at-risk children, were the rural women who for the first time experienced a sense of control over the health of their children, the fates of whom they had previously handed over to traditional healers and traditional Western medicine.