By Muazu Shedrack | Project Officer
Ungwan-Zuru is a malaria high-risk rural community in rural Niger state, with poor child and maternal health indices. There is also poor access to healthcare services including medicines as many families and households lack the financial resources to access healthcare which is mostly out-of-pocket expenditure. Ungwuan Zuru also have high malaria disease burden with malaria accounting for over 60% of clinic attendance at the Primary Health Care Centre that serves the community, based on data from the local health authorities.
For this reporting period, Physicians for Social Justice, PSJ’s, mobile team conducted a Malaria Mobile Clinic Outreach targeting vulnerable residents of Ungwan Zuru, especially women and children. As part of the package of health services provided, 107 pregnant women and 144 under-5 children who presented with fever and clinically suspected of having malaria received malaria diagnostic screening using Rapid Diagnostic Kits (RDT) provided through donations made to PSJ via globalgiving foundation. Out of those that were tested, 88 pregnant women and 94 children under-5 tested positive and were provided with anti-malaria treatment at no cost to them, because you, our donors already donated to PSJ through the GlobalGiving Foundation which enabled payments for the cost of diagnostic testing and the treatment including for the full doses of anti-malaria medications. For pregnant women who did not test positive, all who were due were given anti-malaria prophylaxis according to the national malaria-in-pregnancy prophylaxis protocol.
In addition, 58 non-pregnant women and 19 males mainly older children and the elderly who tested positive for malaria were also provided full doses of malaria treatment based on national treatment guidelines. Residents of Ungwuan zuru have profoundly expressed their gratitude to PSJ’s donors for making it possible for them to access quality primary healthcare especially malaria diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis, without facing additional financial risk and burden. A 32-year-old man, Musa, who brought his feverish 4-year-old girl expressed his deep gratitude for the treatment given to his daughter without him paying a dime. ‘I could not have afforded the cost of the medicines”, said Musa. Musa is part of many residents in these communities who lack any form of financial risk protection such as health insurance. The cost of healthcare is usually out-of-pocket and many community members simply cannot afford it. Under these circumstances, donations from donors like you are life-saving.
By Shedrack Muazu | Monitorin, Reporting & Learning officer
By Nnaji Kenneth | Project Officer
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