Emergency response to malaria and food shortages

Collaborating with our partners, we have designed programs to address some of the health challenges facing rural, northern Ghana. Our projects build on recent losses in the communities from cerebral malaria, child birth, and bacterial infections. They also seek to prepare for the likely impacts of the loss of significant international aid in health care, especially with malaria prevention and treatment. Recognizing that we are not a health care agency, we sought to create projecs that will help with prevention and enable our partners to access regional health facilities in emergencies.

We began by piloting three efforts.

First, our partners distributed malaria nets to pregnant women, elderly women, and mothers of children under age 5, all of whom are highly vulnerable to more severe malaria impacts. Unfortunately, the region where we work has one of the highest rates of malaria infection in the world. 

Second, we have expanded our health education programming by having the local midwife/nurse conduct a three day training for all of the partner staff. This training taught how to use a thermometer, how to identify symptoms of severe illness, and first aid. 

Third, we have created a small emergency health fund that mother's can use to hire transportation to the regional health clinic and to pay for medications. Emergency treatment is available about an hour away by car, but there are no cars in our partner communities. To receive treatment, patients must be able to pay for their own medications. This fund addresses both of these issues and we believe it is the best single intervention we can use to reduce childhood deaths from malaria and help women who face complicated home births. 

We are currently seeking funding to provide first aid kits to all of our teachers, conducting malaria education trainings for all of the women in our women's farming program, distributing soap to participants and families, and expanding our emergency health fund. 

We hope to expand our health programs next year and welcome any suggestions of grants that we could apply for or other resources. Thank you for your help! 

The World Food Program has determined that about 1 million people in the northern regions of Ghana are facing severe food shortages. In our partner communities, families are using the remainder of their stored food and we unfortunately anticipate that there will be widespread malnutrition in January. We have proactively prepared for this situation using three strateges. First, we opened a new school in a very rural village and began a school lunch program (see photos). Second, we expanded our women's farming program to a new village. Finally, our partners purchased a significant amount of food prior to the shortages and stored it. They will begin distributing food to mothers with children under age 5 and pregnant women in January.

We greatly appreciate everyone who has contributed to this effort. We hope to purchase additional food to provide school lunches on weekends and over school breaks.