Malaria: dying a preventable death
A boy sleeps safely under a mosquito net in Cameroon.
PHOTO: Plan staff
Malaria statistics
- A child dies from malaria every three seconds
- Malaria occurs in more than 90 countries — 40% of the world's population is at risk
- The disease kills up to three million people a year
April 25, 2008
Today, Friday 25 April 2008, marks World Malaria Day and aims to highlight a disease which kills millions of people across the globe every year.
An estimated 500 million cases of malaria every year cause up to 3 million deaths, of which an estimated 90 percent occur in Sub-Saharan Africa — the majority being children under the age of five.
Malaria is a life-threatening and devastating parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. It is one of the leading causes of death and disease worldwide, especially in the developing world.
It affects 40 percent of the world's population — putting 3.2 billion people at risk in 107 countries.
Plan works hard to educate communities about preventing the disease, recognizing symptoms and enabling people to seek medical advice.
Read on to see three very different case studies of how Plan works to help prevent millions from dying preventable deaths.
Guinea Bissau — Mosquito net distribution campaign
Tanzania — Helping deal with malaria outbreaks in emergency situations
Ghana — Breeding fish to eat mosquito larvae
Guinea Bissau
Mosquito nets treated with a repellent that discourage mosquitos from coming near the sleeper are one of the most simple and effective methods of escaping the disease.
Educating people, however, and encouraging awareness of malaria — including knowing how to recognize the symptoms and how to treat an infected person — are also critical in preventing malaria.
In Guinea Bissau, where approximately 45 percent of registered deaths are caused by malaria, children are benefiting from Plan's malaria prevention efforts, including the distribution of treated mosquito nets and community malaria-prevention projects.
As part of a drive to reduce this statistic, Plan entered a joint partnership with the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization and UNICEF, resulting in a campaign of malaria treatment and prevention and the distribution of impregnated mosquito nets throughout the country.
Abissa, mother to three-year-old Lamine, was given a mosquito net during the distribution campaign: “Since my son received the mosquito net from Plan in November 2007 he has always slept under it. So, thanks God, in that time Lamine hasn’t been sick with malaria," she said.
The free distribution of the mosquito nets has been followed by the distribution of Vitamin A and Mebendazole and the vaccination of children under five years old, which has been very important in reducing the reoccurrence of sickness.
Communities have also participated in intensive communications activities about methods for the prevention of malaria. According to UNICEF, the use of impregnated mosquito nets can result in approximately a 20 percent reduction in morbidity.
The newly established Children’s Participation Group in the community of Ga-Tauda played a vital role in the sensitization of families relating to the need for the systematic use of impregnated mosquito nets.
A member of the Child Participation Group said: “After the campaign our group not only continued the activity of door-to-door sensitization, but also monitored the mothers that received the mosquito nets to ensure they were using them to protect their children.
“Therefore, we are sure that the decrease of the cases of malaria in our community is, in fact, due to the use of long-duration-impregnated mosquito nets.”
Thanks to this joint partnership, the coverage has reached not only over 90 percent of the communities in the region of Bafata, but it has also reached some remote communities for the first time.
In the community of Ga-Tauda, health workers said: “After the implementation of the malaria campaign, the number of cases of malaria has reduced drastically with the rate falling from 30 percent to 15 percent. “When we verified the statistical data from past years we realized that the cases of malaria in this community were severe indeed.”
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Tanzania
Forced to flee the floods, and leaving behind their homes, livelihoods and possessions, Tanzanian children are now returning to an increased threat from malaria. Receding waters have left stagnant pools, which act as breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Plan is the only international Non Governmental Organization to have responded by providing bed nets and other emergency relief to the worst affected families.
Even before the floods, malaria killed more children under the age of five than any other disease in Tanzania. Infant mortality rates stood at 68 per 1000 live births, compared to children under five years, which stood at 112 per 1000 live births.
David Muthungu, Plan ’s Country Director, explains: “Urgent action is needed to prevent children dying from malaria. Receding floods are leaving stagnant pools — perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes. These children have endured many hardships caused by the floods over the past week.
"They have lost homes, been prevented from continuing their education and have struggled to find food and drinking water. They now face the increased threat of catching ’s biggest killer disease.”
There has so far been little outside help available for the communities affected by the floods.
Plan responded quickly spending USD $50,000 on flood relief and distributing hundreds of long lasting insecticide-treated bed nets to families. The bed nets were distributed immediately to thwart the spread of malaria.
Back to top
Ghana
A Plan Ghana-backed scheme to breed fish in dams has helped reduce high levels of malnutrition and control the malaria-carrying mosquito population.
By providing irrigation dams to eight communities in the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region, Plan has also helped farmers by creating a water source for crops and livestock that is not dependent on the weather.
For the past year, the dams at Buoti, Nemoro, Kupulima and Zini have been home to 825,000 fish, most of which are tilapia.
The fish feed on the mosquito larvae which helps to control the spread of malaria as the mosquitoes are killed before they have the chance to unleash the deadly malaria disease.
The fish are then harvested to feed the community in an area where in 2003, a quarter of children under five were recorded as underweight. That figure is above the national average and more than twice that of youngsters of a similar age in the capital.
The fishing, which is carried out using basket traps as well as the more traditional hook and line method, is mostly carried out by boys aged between 10 and 18. "I send my fish home for my whole family to eat," said 11-year-old pupil Kadir Balu.
The dams are managed by the communities themselves, with fishermen in some areas paying fees to a Water Users Associations (WUA), which hold the dams in trust. Fishermen pay an annual fixed amount as royalty or hand over a percentage of each catch made which will then be sold and the money paid to the WUA.
Plan is to fund a program designed to safeguard against over-fishing of these valuable resources and, starting next year, fishermen are to be trained by Ministry of Fisheries officials within their communities to ensure the harvesting does not deplete the fish population beyond a critical point.
This training will include net-casting techniques and repair tips as well as methods to process and store the fish. The anglers will pay royalties for the use of the concession and sell their catch to community members. Fish feeding will form an important aspect of the training, which will ensure the healthier and faster growth of the fish in order to maximize the carrying capacity of the water. Here, care will be taken to ensure that the fish feed will not be harmful to the water for irrigating nearby crops.
Plans are also in progress to attract tourists to the dam areas, where they can hire fishing lines and sample local produce while enjoying the view.
Back to top
An estimated 500 million cases of malaria every year cause up to 3 million deaths, of which an estimated 90 percent occur in Sub-Saharan Africa — the majority being children under the age of five.
Malaria is a life-threatening and devastating parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. It is one of the leading causes of death and disease worldwide, especially in the developing world.
It affects 40 percent of the world's population — putting 3.2 billion people at risk in 107 countries.
Plan works hard to educate communities about preventing the disease, recognizing symptoms and enabling people to seek medical advice.
Read on to see three very different case studies of how Plan works to help prevent millions from dying preventable deaths.
Guinea Bissau — Mosquito net distribution campaign
Tanzania — Helping deal with malaria outbreaks in emergency situations
Ghana — Breeding fish to eat mosquito larvae
Guinea Bissau
Mosquito nets treated with a repellent that discourage mosquitos from coming near the sleeper are one of the most simple and effective methods of escaping the disease.
Educating people, however, and encouraging awareness of malaria — including knowing how to recognize the symptoms and how to treat an infected person — are also critical in preventing malaria.
In Guinea Bissau, where approximately 45 percent of registered deaths are caused by malaria, children are benefiting from Plan's malaria prevention efforts, including the distribution of treated mosquito nets and community malaria-prevention projects.
As part of a drive to reduce this statistic, Plan entered a joint partnership with the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization and UNICEF, resulting in a campaign of malaria treatment and prevention and the distribution of impregnated mosquito nets throughout the country.
Abissa, mother to three-year-old Lamine, was given a mosquito net during the distribution campaign: “Since my son received the mosquito net from Plan in November 2007 he has always slept under it. So, thanks God, in that time Lamine hasn’t been sick with malaria," she said.
The free distribution of the mosquito nets has been followed by the distribution of Vitamin A and Mebendazole and the vaccination of children under five years old, which has been very important in reducing the reoccurrence of sickness.
Communities have also participated in intensive communications activities about methods for the prevention of malaria. According to UNICEF, the use of impregnated mosquito nets can result in approximately a 20 percent reduction in morbidity.
The newly established Children’s Participation Group in the community of Ga-Tauda played a vital role in the sensitization of families relating to the need for the systematic use of impregnated mosquito nets.
A member of the Child Participation Group said: “After the campaign our group not only continued the activity of door-to-door sensitization, but also monitored the mothers that received the mosquito nets to ensure they were using them to protect their children.
“Therefore, we are sure that the decrease of the cases of malaria in our community is, in fact, due to the use of long-duration-impregnated mosquito nets.”
Thanks to this joint partnership, the coverage has reached not only over 90 percent of the communities in the region of Bafata, but it has also reached some remote communities for the first time.
In the community of Ga-Tauda, health workers said: “After the implementation of the malaria campaign, the number of cases of malaria has reduced drastically with the rate falling from 30 percent to 15 percent. “When we verified the statistical data from past years we realized that the cases of malaria in this community were severe indeed.”
Back to top
Tanzania
Forced to flee the floods, and leaving behind their homes, livelihoods and possessions, Tanzanian children are now returning to an increased threat from malaria. Receding waters have left stagnant pools, which act as breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Plan is the only international Non Governmental Organization to have responded by providing bed nets and other emergency relief to the worst affected families.
Even before the floods, malaria killed more children under the age of five than any other disease in Tanzania. Infant mortality rates stood at 68 per 1000 live births, compared to children under five years, which stood at 112 per 1000 live births.
David Muthungu, Plan ’s Country Director, explains: “Urgent action is needed to prevent children dying from malaria. Receding floods are leaving stagnant pools — perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes. These children have endured many hardships caused by the floods over the past week.
"They have lost homes, been prevented from continuing their education and have struggled to find food and drinking water. They now face the increased threat of catching ’s biggest killer disease.”
There has so far been little outside help available for the communities affected by the floods.
Plan responded quickly spending USD $50,000 on flood relief and distributing hundreds of long lasting insecticide-treated bed nets to families. The bed nets were distributed immediately to thwart the spread of malaria.
Back to top
Ghana
A Plan Ghana-backed scheme to breed fish in dams has helped reduce high levels of malnutrition and control the malaria-carrying mosquito population.
By providing irrigation dams to eight communities in the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region, Plan has also helped farmers by creating a water source for crops and livestock that is not dependent on the weather.
For the past year, the dams at Buoti, Nemoro, Kupulima and Zini have been home to 825,000 fish, most of which are tilapia.
The fish feed on the mosquito larvae which helps to control the spread of malaria as the mosquitoes are killed before they have the chance to unleash the deadly malaria disease.
The fish are then harvested to feed the community in an area where in 2003, a quarter of children under five were recorded as underweight. That figure is above the national average and more than twice that of youngsters of a similar age in the capital.
The fishing, which is carried out using basket traps as well as the more traditional hook and line method, is mostly carried out by boys aged between 10 and 18. "I send my fish home for my whole family to eat," said 11-year-old pupil Kadir Balu.
The dams are managed by the communities themselves, with fishermen in some areas paying fees to a Water Users Associations (WUA), which hold the dams in trust. Fishermen pay an annual fixed amount as royalty or hand over a percentage of each catch made which will then be sold and the money paid to the WUA.
Plan is to fund a program designed to safeguard against over-fishing of these valuable resources and, starting next year, fishermen are to be trained by Ministry of Fisheries officials within their communities to ensure the harvesting does not deplete the fish population beyond a critical point.
This training will include net-casting techniques and repair tips as well as methods to process and store the fish. The anglers will pay royalties for the use of the concession and sell their catch to community members. Fish feeding will form an important aspect of the training, which will ensure the healthier and faster growth of the fish in order to maximize the carrying capacity of the water. Here, care will be taken to ensure that the fish feed will not be harmful to the water for irrigating nearby crops.
Plans are also in progress to attract tourists to the dam areas, where they can hire fishing lines and sample local produce while enjoying the view.
Back to top
