Today is world malaria day.. Did you all know that?
Now I know in america-land malaria is not a huge issue, people don't sleep under mosquito nets, have to take an anti-malarial prophylaxis, or know many people in their community who have had malaria. . . But here in Mozambique all of those things are a reality for me. I sleep under a mosquito net every night, am taking a daily medication, and every night either put on bug spray, or use long pants and sleeves.
This week, with my community organizations and REDES group, I am hopefully going to teach and learn more about malaria in this country. With Stomp Out Malaria (an Africa-wide Peace Corps initiative aimed at significantly supporting the international effort to eliminate malaria from Africa) PCV's are trying to, reduce malaria where we work, contribute to the reduction of malaria in country and help build an online community of malaria prevention professionals.
We have a basic prevention scheme here in moz; 1, encourage people to use LLINs (long lige insecticide-treated bed nets) 2, early diagnosis and treatment (especially in those under 5yrs of age, pregnant women, and PLWHA) 3, intermittent preventative/presumptive treatment for pregnancy 4, indoor residual spraying 5, house/yard maintence 6, properly taking all medication.
With my community organizations this week, I am giving malaria palestras (workshops) where I give an oral pre-test to see what people already know about malaria, I will talk about vulnerable populations, when it is most likely to catch malaria, symptoms of both uncomplicated and severe malaria, and where people can get a net. After this, we are going to open the floor for volunteers to speak about their own experiences with malaria, what they did/do once they realized they had it, and what they could have done to prevent it. I will then do a post-test (again, orally and by show of hands) to see what the retention of information is. Hopefully the volunteers will then take this information into the field when they do home visits, thusly affecting a greater population.
With my REDES group, we are putting together a small theatre piece about malaria, to then present to my community organizations.
Check out the website 'stomp out malaria' and see what other cool things pcv's are doing worldwide.
Till next time, your friend in africa
Hello and Welcome!
- TaylorDaphne
- Quelimane, Zambezia Province, Mozambique
- A small look into what my personal experiences in Mozambique are like. Written as a stream of consciousness, these are my thoughts, my successes and my failures. Life is all about the moments that we live in. I hope that the moment you take out of your life to read this blog is a positive one. The views and opinions in this blog are my own and do not reflect those of the U.S. Government or U.S. Peace Corps.
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