World Malaria Day

Good Morning World! 

So this past week I have been in Maputo with three other amazing PCV's and the Mozambican Leadership (board members) for the REDES project. After months of planning and countless emails, and a crazy busy week of the REDES project is officially on its way to become a Mozambican led association! We were very very busy this past week with all of that, so I haven't had the ability to be at site to do Malaria-related projects this month.... Such a bummer in some ways because there are SO many ways to transmit the message of Malaria prevention and treatment - like last year my REDES girls did a theatre skit and my organization did a small net demonstration in various houses of our patients. .

So I'm going to take this opportunity to bend your ear a bit about Malaria. Keep an open mind as you read, and try to picture yourself living in a country where this disease is still an endemic. 

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite. People with malaria often experience fever, chills, and flu-like illness - if this is left untreated, it is possible to develop very severe complications and die. 

Malaria is endemic throughout Mozambique with seasonal peaks during and after the rainy season (which is between November and January-ish). The seasonal intensity of transmission varies depending on the amount of rain and air temperature. The tropical climate combined with the presence of some of the most efficient vectors for malaria transmission facilitates malaria transmission throughout the entire calendar year.

In Mozambique, Malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality especially among children. The disease represents around 45% of all cases in outpatient visits, approximately 56% of inpatient at pediatric clinics and around 26% of all hospital deaths. This relatively high prevalence of Malaria in many parts of the country puts the entire population at risk and poses a challenge for malaria elimination efforts nationally and in neighboring countries.

So... How do we solve this? How can we combat and fight this disease??

One answer is - Stomping Out Malaria in Africa. (http://stompoutmalaria.org/) It is an initiative of the United States Peace Corps, with a mission to join all PCV's across Africa and around the world to bring an end to the scourge of Malaria.

Some of the Goals of this initiative include;

Fighting Malaria in Our Communities

--Peace Corps will work to ensure every malaria-impacted Peace Corps Volunteer community (village or urban neighborhood) has universal bed net coverage and comprehensive malaria prevention and treatment education programs.

Partnering to Defeat Malaria in Target Countries

--Peace Corps will work with partners in all malaria-impacted countries to achieve the internationally agreed upon  of milestone or near zero deaths caused by malaria by 2015.

Building an International Malaria Prevention Community

--Peace Corps will work with partners to catalyze a community of practice for frontline malaria prevention professionals, using the internet to facilitate documentation and sharing of malaria prevention best practices internationally.

Mozambique officially joined the Stomping Out Malaria in Africa Initiative in February of 2012.

Volunteers commonly integrate malaria prevention education into routine home visits to HIV positive people and OCVs (orphans and vulnerable children).  They also work with organizations to help with bed net distributions, indoor spraying campaigns, and other behavior change campaigns.

• 162 Volunteers serving in the sectors of Health and Education
• 100% of Volunteers trained in malaria prevention
• 13 Volunteers have attended an intensive domestic malaria training
• 3 Volunteers have attended an intensive international malaria training

In 2012, 31 Peace Corps Volunteers participated in 49 malaria projects reaching 2,700 people in 45 communities.

Training of Trainers:  Volunteers trained leaders in their communities to be malaria prevention advocates.

In 2012, Mozambique PCVs trained 244 community health workers about malaria prevention and treatment through organized trainings.

584 community members were educated through outreach and youth groups.

Education Campaigns:

Volunteers have taught 384 students about malaria in their schools.

1,750 individuals have been reached during theater tours, through murals, and malaria fairs.

Targeting Vulnerable Populations:  

Over 120 children under the age of five were touched by a malaria message through messaging to caregivers.