Community-Based Malaria Prevention

Malaria is a primary cause of death of children in Yirimadjo. Each year, malaria kills more than one million people, most of them children living in sub-Saharan Africa. The Yirimadjo Community Health Center reported more than 3,000 cases of malaria in 2006, and the number of unreported cases is likely much higher. Sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets can dramatically reduce the risk of infection, and would decrease number of child deaths from malaria.

To address this crisis, the Community Action Committee collaborated with the Project Muso team to develop the Community Based Malaria Prevention Program.  The goals of the program are:

1. to provide education about malaria prevention, and;
2. to distribute free bed nets to children five and younger and pregnant women.

In partnership with the Yirimadjo Community Health Center, the Community Action Committee has distributed nets at eight different sites.  The network of Community Health Promoters trained by Project Muso have been vital to this effort, efficiently distributing and organizing teaching and training for the community. Project Muso's Community Health Promoters have distributed more than 1,700 bed nets to date. Community Health Promoters teach essential skills in the prevention and treatment of malaria via:

• original theater pieces at community wide performances;
• one-on-one trainings with each community member who receives a net, and;
• complementary training with community members in their homes. 

In December 2007, Health Educators also worked with the Yirimadjo Community Health Center to help distribute several thousand additional nets through the Integrated Campaign, sponsored by many international partners, including the Canadian Red Cross; the Canadian International Development Agency; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Malaria No More; Population Services International; the President’s Malaria Initiative; the Roll Back Malaria Partnership; and the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign. 

Community-Based Malaria Treatment

In partnership with the Ministry of Health’s Yirimadjo Community Health Center, we are preparing to launch the treatment arm of our Community-Based Malaria Program in the summer of 2008. This program aims to stop the deadly progression of malaria, by diagnosing and treating patients with malaria early with artemisin-based combination therapy (ACT). To ensure that this resource is delivered effectively and efficiently, we will:

(1) Create a Solidarity Fund to ensure free access to healthcare and essential medicines for the poorest members of the community;

(2) Train a team of local women to be Community Health Workers, who will diagnose, treat and cure simple cases of malaria in the home early before the disease progresses to its more advanced, deadly stages. Most young children killed by malaria die within two days of their first symptom; by ensuring early treatment, similar initiatives in other countries have dramatically reduced malaria-related deaths. We will recruit Health Workers from the women already learning with Project Muso, enabling them to harness their existing relationships with fellow community members, build upon their healthcare skills, and take on new medical responsibilities.

(3) Build infrastructure for the local clinic, which means providing crucial equipment and constructing a new laboratory, pharmacy, and facilities for examinations, testing, counseling, and treatment.

Our Solidarity Fund, Community Health Workers, and fully equipped clinic aim to transform the urgent malaria crisis in Yirimadjo while also improving the quality and accessibility of healthcare for other illnesses.  Click here to find out how you can help this new program reach its full potential.