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.