World Malaria Month by Grace M.

Grace Mullin
Muhanga District, Southern Province




April 25th started World Malaria Month. As many of you may know, Malaria is a huge problem in much of Africa, in fact 90% of malaria deaths occur in Africa, most of those in children under 5 years old, and the equivalent of $13 billion is spent each year in Africa on Malaria (that is 910,000,000,000Rwf). That is an enormous sum of money, and if used for other things, could really advance so much in Rwanda, and Africa as a whole. The reality: with the proper precautions, malaria really can be eliminated.

Sure, malaria is a huge issue, but this is a Gender and Development blog, so of course we have to tie it into that. So I will do so on two fronts.

The first is that pregnant women are at a much higher risk of having severe complications from contracting malaria. To begin with, pregnant women release chemicals that attract mosquitoes, putting them at higher risk of contracting malaria to begin with. Furthermore, once they contract it, it affects their bodies more, as their immune system is weakened, and the parasite can occupy the placenta without detection, which can cause harm to the unborn baby, including early delivery, low birthweight, and potentially the passing of malaria to the unborn child (congenital malaria). For this reason, Ministry of Health standards in Rwanda mandate that every woman receives a mosquito net during her first pregnancy. The problem though, is many women in Rwanda refuse to sleep under their nets. Many find them hot, or have fears, mostly based on old methods of chemically treating the nets, that the nets can negatively impact their health. It is important as Community Health Volunteers, Education Volunteers and Educated Rwandans to help these mothers to understand the risks they put themselves and their babies at, by not sleeping under the mosquito net every night. Sure the nets can make you slightly hotter, and the net has been known on a very rare occasion to make someone itchy, but the consequences of not sleeping under the nets can be deadly. For the sake of camaraderie and for cross-sector education and support, I will debunk a few of the malaria myths (and then move on to my second focus of this blog).

• Certain groups are more susceptible to severe complications from malaria, these are children under 5 years old, pregnant women, people from areas that are not endemic to malaria (and therefore have no immunity to them) and people living with HIV/AIDS (or another immunodeficient condition).
• In 2013, WHO estimates that 198 million clinical cases of malaria occurred and 500,000 people died of malaria, most of those were children in Africa (CDC Website, "Malaria FAQs," accessed May 5, 2015).
• The Anopheles mosquito generally feeds at night, and then rests inside on the upper portions of walls to digest its meal. There are other mosquitoes that bite during the day, or have different resting patterns, but these are not mosquitoes that cause malaria. This is why being under a mosquito net during peak hours is so key to prevention.
• Mosquitoes need stagnant water to lay their eggs, which is why one of the important prevention techniques is to eliminate stagnant water from around the house (even a piece of trash can hold enough water for a mosquito to lay eggs).
• Many believe that chopping down bushes by one's house is the key to preventing mosquitoes. While this may be a good practice for other things, it is not known to impact mosquitoes or the rates of malaria.
• Mosquito nets should be tucked under the mattress, holes should be repaired (they can be sewn with just a needle and thread), they should be washed gently with non-abrasive soap 3 times per year, and left in the shade to dry.
• Anyone who has symptoms of malaria should seek treatment immediately, and if prescribed, should take all of their medicine to completion.
• When awareness campaigns, prevention techniques, diagnostic tests, transportation to health centers/posts, medicine costs and loss of wages due to illness, are all taken into account, one can see how much Malaria really does cost.
• Malaria IS spread from person to person, just not in the traditional sense. No, one person cannot directly give malaria to another person, but if a person sick with malaria is bitten by a female Anopheles mosquito, the mosquito can transfer that malaria to another person. An Anopheles mosquito cannot be born with malaria; it must contract it from a human. If no one has malaria, the mosquito cannot spread it.
• Many people are under the assumption that because malaria has never made them sick, it is not important for them to try to prevent it. The reality is: it may not make them sick, but they can pass it on to someone who may become very sick.
• Malaria, if left untreated, can kill.

So, that is my pitch on how malaria works, and my plea to remember how it is a GAD issue because it affects pregnant women (and other vulnerable groups) at a more serious rate than some other members of society.



My second focus of this blog is the Southern Region of Rwanda's Malaria Tour that took place this week. During the tour, 8 volunteers were able to visit through 3 schools and 1 health center reaching approximately 1,000 children with malaria education. Through this tour, the volunteers were able to integrate GAD work, by being mindful of the participation in both genders and utilizing programs GAD has previously created.

• On multiple occasions, volunteers could be heard thanking boys for their answers, and then requesting for a girl to answer the next question, thus creating an environment of equality.
• A few of the lessons taught were attended by a significant number of female students, who were given voices to share their knowledge and opinions.
• Both boys and girls worked together in healthy and productive ways to complete activities, play games, answer questions and put on skits/songs.
• At one of the secondary schools, the female students took the lead on a rap they had written about malaria.
• The first malaria session of the tour was organized by GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) and BE (Boys Excelling) Clubs at the school. These clubs were extensions of the GLOW and BE camps that had taken place in the past. The students that had attended the camps were able to take what they learned and bring it back to other students, who participated in these clubs, who were, in turn, able to take all that they had learned to help give it back to the entire school.

 

Rwanda's Southern Region Malaria Tour

Under the Mosquito Net

Malaria Skit

Final Lesson of the Malaria Tour