Mosquitoes Without Borders

For the 2013 World Malaria Day commemoration Zambia and Zimbabwe launched a cross border initiative to coordinate interventions .  On April 24, Zimbabwe hosted a press conference at Victoria Falls to discuss the three objectives of this initiative.  First, harmonization of malaria policies, which include the types of chemicals used for indoor residual spraying (IRS) at the borders and behavior changes messaging.  The second is the synchronization of annual malaria campaigns, such as IRS spraying and mosquito net distributions between borders and the last objective is joint coordination referral of severe cases, regular sharing of malaria surveillance data and early warning on potential epidemics.

On the morning of April 25^th, a mass net distribution began in the border village of Nsongwe in Zambia and representatives from both health ministries were present to assist in hanging nets and observe indoor residual spraying at one home.  The distribution will be completed by community health workers over the next seven days. This event was followed by launch of the cross border initiative in the town of Livingstone,  Zambia. 

Three Peace Corps (Susanna, Alice and Elyse) and myself also participated in the event in Livingstone with a malaria booth including a game of  stomping out malaria.  Participants stomped on a balloon and inside was a malaria question each person had to answer.  It was a fun and informative way to talk about malaria.

Also, Hays, Oteng and Gigi from Peace Corps Botswana attended the event in Livingstone and it was great to share ideas and get their support.

The end of the event concluded with remarks from Livingstone City Council member, Mrs. Chitkoti, who stated,

 "I always sleep under a mosquito net and I can't remember the last time I had malaria."

This was a great testimonial about one of the most effective interventions we have to fight malaria. The best way to continue the fight against malaria is to join forces.

What will you do to Stomp Out Malaria in 2013?

Stomping Out Malaria in Africa is a Peace Corps initiative that uses strategic partnerships, targeted training Volunteers and intelligent use of information technology to support the local malaria prevention efforts of over 3,000 Volunteers in sub-Saharan Africa. For more information go to stompoutmalaria.org and follow Stomp activities at http://www.facebook.com/StompOutMalaria.

Changing the Story

As I approached the clinic in my village I heard a woman wailing and knew someone had died.  A young girl, about three years old, had just died from malaria. She had been brought to the clinic with a fever of almost 105, but there were no treatments due to the progression of the disease.  The nurse was in town collecting more supplies, including anti-malarial drugs, and there was only one volunteer working at the clinic.  In the bed across from the girl lay a young boy  with a high fever as a result of malaria.  His father knelt by the bed, gently placing a cloth on the boy’s face and head.   I could see tears streaming down the father’s face.  I asked the volunteer if there was anything she could give the boy, but she shook her head and walked away. I realized the volunteer had two children of her own about the same age and she felt helpless.  Less than two hours later I heard wailing, the boy died.  In one day, in one clinic, two children, two deaths in two hours, both from malaria.

This is just one story about impact of malaria in Africa. The statistics on the number of deaths are staggering, including, a child dies every 30 seconds from malaria, but behind these numbers are similar stories of grief and despair for the families and communities.  Yet, malaria is a preventable and treatable disease so why are over 750,000 people dying each year?

In 2011 Peace Corps Africa started the Stomp Out Malaria Initiative, utilizing more than 3,000 volunteers who are working in their communities, with government and non-government agencies on malaria interventions through education and social media. In essence, Stomp is working to change the stories from the number of deaths to the number of lives saved through these interventions.  This is not an easy task, with many challenges, but as Zambians say, “panono, panono,”bit by bit, we are working in our communities on prevention and treatment measures.

I realized after these children died that families did not have enough bed nets in my village.  I was able to get a grant and purchase 700 nets and worked with the clinic and volunteers to distribute to families with small children.   Peace Corps Zambia is commemorating April as World Malaria Month and volunteers are working on several projects including malaria prevention health talks at schools and clinics, training health volunteers in the communities, radio programs and even songs in the local language.  Bit by bit, we are working to change stories of sorrow to stories of hope that people can stay healthy and that no one should die from malaria.

To learn more about Stomp and the malaria projects of volunteers in Zambia and throughout Africa, go to www.stompoutmalaria.org or on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/StompOutMalaria

How will you Stomp out malaria in 2013?