"If you put plain old bed nets around and do it properly and spray them with insecticide, you can get rid of half the malaria deaths in Africa, and that's at least a million a year." -- Michael Specter, writer for the New Yorker magazine
Highlights of Health Education Day 2009
Health Education Day has become a much anticipated annual event in Suba District, Kenya. Every year the community members look forward to this event as they spend the day sharing a meal, singing, dancing, learning about Malaria prevention, and women and children vulnerable to Malaria receive long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLIN’s). In May 2009, 1800 long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLIN’s) were distributed. The beneficiaries included:
- 186 pregnant mothers (majority between 14 and 21 years),
- 57 men,
- 640 children (ages new born to 2 years)
- 917 children (ages 2-5 years)
The beneficiaries were identified by the Akado staff after visiting over 3000 homes in the Mbita, and Rusinga Island. The population of Mbita currently stands at 73,197 and the majority of them are women and children living within the impoverished informal settlements of Mbita Township.
Akado Medical Clinic in Mbita, Kenya
At HED 2009 some of the key activities included;
- Distribution of 1,800 Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets.
- Free Malaria diagnosis for 917 children (ages between 2-5 years).
- Distribution of Water Treatment Kits to poorest households.
- Re-treatment of Insecticide Treated Nets.
- Blood slide tests on Malaria Parasites was conducted for a total of 773 children. Out of these 773 children 41% tested positive for Malaria. This highlights the high prevalence rate of Malaria among young children.
- 917 children between the ages of 2 and 5 years were given de-worming medicines.
- Mobilization of key stakeholders and formation of Emergency Disaster Response Team to curb the threats of outbreaks of Malaria and other communicable diseases due to heavy downpour of early rains.
- Health Talks with local communities on Malaria prevention and control.
- Formation of Village Malaria Advocacy Committees (VMACs).
- Training of ECD Teachers on early recognition and prompt treatment of Malaria among young children (2-5 years).
- Poems and other creative activities by Kindergarten children on Malaria Prevention and Control.
- Printing of Banner/Flyers of Malaria Prevention and Control 2009.
- Photos/ Video shooting.
HED 2009, was the fifth year that the event was organized in Mbita, Kenya. Some of the lessons we have learnt over the last 5 years include:
- In resource constrained communities such as Mbita, Malaria control programs should be comprehensive. For example, it is important to educate the community about prevention methods as treatment via anti-malaria drugs is very expensive.
- Mobile Clinics can be very effective in the fishing villages in Suba district as people find it very difficult to travel to a health clinic. If medical help can be provided in a timely fashion via a Mobile Clinic, Malaria can be controlled effectively.
- Government records regarding maternal and child health are very poor. There is a need to keep up-to-date and complete records on maternal and child health in Suba district. This will help in assessing and measuring the impact of the Malaria control program over the last 5 years.
At present the Power of Love Foundation is raising funds for distribution of long lasting insecticide treated nets at Health Education Day 2010 and for launching Project Mosquito Net in Zambia. Your generous donation will go a long way in preventing Malaria and saving the lives of children, pregnant teen Moms and women vulnerable to Malaria in Kenya and Zambia.
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History of Project Mosquito Net
Project Mosquito Net is a collaboration of non-profits to provide insecticide treated bed nets to children and pregnant mothers in Mbita, Kenya (Mbita is approximately 400 km from Nairobi). The project began in 2005 as a joint effort between the San Diego based organization Power of Love, the Orange County based non-profit Be the Cause and the Akado Medical Centre located in Mbita, Kenya. The project has grown significantly over the last 3 years and our main goal continues to be eradicating malaria in the region, making Mbita malaria free. We need your help do this and as always 100% of the funds raised for this project go directly to purchasing and transporting insecticide treated bed nets (ITNS).
In Africa, over 700,000 children die needlessly every year from Malaria which is easily preventable disease. In fact, more children die from malaria then any other disease in the world. In addition, many more children contract malaria and suffer from its effects over their entire lifetime. So how do we eradicate malaria? One child and one mosquito bed net at a time. In the US, malaria has been eradicated. It is possible to eradicate it worldwide.