Vaccinate Children and Mothers and Prevent Disease

We have completed our first round of vaccinations for the year in 30 rural villages in and around the Ouelessebougou area. In January and May the Alliance will complete two more rounds of vaccinations--totalling almost 6,000 vaccinations for the year.

Village families in the rural areas of Ouelessebougou continue to face many health risks and diseases every day. In Mali, one in five children does not live past his or her fifth birthday due to preventable diseases such as dysentery, measles and malaria.

The good news--93% of children under the age of five are fully vaccinated in villages where the Alliance provides vaccinations, whereas nationally the numbers are less than 50%. Thank you for helping us continue to prevent disease for families in 30 rural villages.

Sincerely,
Ouelessebougou Alliance staff

Links:

• Deseret News article

It's been a fantastic year for disease prevention in Ouelessebougou, but as villagers approach the rainy season they are anxious to have access to mosquito nets to protect them from the mosquito-borne disease, malaria. They are also anxious to get the last round of vaccinations for the year to protect them from other life-threatening diseases. Village health workers are working hard before the rainy season comes to keep their villages clean and improve the overall health of village families.

This year, the Alliance hopes to provide nearly 5,500 vaccinations—for 2,300 women and children. This brings the total vaccinations that Ouelessebougou has provided in the Ouelessebougou area and surrounding villages to 60,000 since 2003! Although 20% of Malian children die before the age of five, less than 1% of the children in villages where we work die from vaccine preventable deaths. 92.8% of children under five in villages where we work are fully vaccinated, whereas nationally, the numbers are less than 50%.

The Alliance has also provided 600 mosquito nets for village families this year. Because a family of four can sleep under one net, these new nets will protect 2,400 more individuals. Since the Alliance began offering nets at a $1 cost to villagers, we have distributed nearly 5,000 nets since 2004! Unfortunately there are hundreds of villagers that continually request nets from our Mali staff and we haven't been able to fill their requests yet. This year we hope to double the amount of nets we've been providing each year to continue to meet the rising need.

Thanks for your help in making all of these projects come to pass!

Links:

• Utah Newspaper Highlights Our Sustainable Work
• About our Health Programs

Dear Global Givers,

The holiday season is a time to give thanks for all that we have . . . and a time to give help to those who are less fortunate than we are. 

While we enjoy our holiday feasts, rural Malians fight against disease, poverty, illiteracy, and long odds to prosper or even to survive.  According to UNICEF, one in every 5 Malian children does not live to see his or her fifth birthday, and only approximately 20% of those who make it to adulthood can write their own names.  In this time of giving, we must look to the less fortunate and help them to overcome their arduous struggle. 

The Ouelessebougou Alliance’s programs are grass-roots movements that instigate social change, sustainable development and greatly increased education, as well as significant improvements in health and sanitation.  Thanks to generous contributors like you, nearly 95% of the children in Ouelessebougou villages are vaccinated – twice the rate in the rest of the country; girls’ enrollment in village schools where the Alliance works is 21% higher than national girls’ school enrollment in Mali, thanks to Alliance workers talking to parents about the importance of educating girls and increasing the availability of education in the area; and the Alliance provides business training and the capital for micro-loans that allow villagers to become entrepreneurs.  Your donation helps us continue to provide these life-changing tools in one of the worlds most impoverished rural regions, providing not only fish for a day, but also the education and training to fish for a lifetime. 

 Spread a little holiday cheer to Mali. 

 Best wishes in the holiday season and the New Year!

 Josh Molina

Links:

• Ouelessebougou Alliance