Some info for you all to think about -
Malaria, an infection caused by the plasmodium parasite, has been a critical public health challenge for thousands of years. From the first recorded sighting in China in 2,700 BC, its signature high cyclical fever and anemia have gone on to kill hundreds of millions of people and the total number of infections is in the billions. In the year 2005 alone, World Health Organization estimates indicated that malaria infected between 350 and 500 million people and killed over 1 million, 90% of whom lived in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of those were children.
Since 2005, a massive international malaria control effort has begun to make significant progress. In 2010, WHO estimated that the number of malaria deaths annually had dropped to 655,000, with the majority of the decrease attributable to increased availability and usage of long lasting insecticide-treaded nets (LLINs). With the LLIN coverage across the continent reaching high levels, ho
wever, the potential for additional gains through net distributions diminishes. The international malaria prevention community, while maintaining high levels of net coverage, has increasingly turned its focus to training community health workers to diagnose and treat malaria in the home. As an organization supporting grassroots development, Peace Corps Volunteers work closely with CHWs across Africa.
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.
Check out more amazing work being done by volunteers around the continent!
http://stompoutmalaria.org/2015/03/
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