Preventing Childhood Malaria Deaths in Mashegu

Within this reporting period, in December 2017, PSJ’s mobile health team revisited Kawo-Kontagora community and their vulnerable households with targeted malaria prevention education, prophylaxis, testing & treatment services, and insecticide treated nets distribution.  The outreach visit provided another opportunity for the malaria team to reinforce already delivered messages to families about ways of malaria prevention. Our health team continued to emphasize and educate families especially nursing mothers on how to recognize early symptoms and signs of malaria and on the need for sick children especially the under-five children to be taken to health facilities to receive prompt medical attention. This is particularly important because most of the deaths due to malaria among under- five children in the communities we serve are due to delays in instituting treatment for such children. Thousands of young children who suffer acute attacks of malaria frequently develop complications such as anaemia and convulsions, because they do not receive prompt treatment, and such complications are usually the cause of their death.

Our health team delivered health talk to the villagers on the importance of sleeping inside insecticide treated nets, which our team had already provided free of charge to most of the households during our previous visits. Pregnant women were educated on the dangers of malaria for themselves and their unborn babies, and had the opportunity to be tested for malaria using the rapid diagnostic test kit for malaria.  A total of 375 community members received health education, 62 nursing mothers and pregnant women had RDT tests and 50 ITNs were given out to nursing mothers and pregnant women. 42 sick children who tested positive to malaria were treated with artesunate combination therapy (ACT), while 34 pregnant women received antimalarial drug prophylaxis, administered by the  primary care physician who accompanied the mobile health team.  

Community members were very grateful to the team and our donors for remembering them once again, even as they expressed delight at the ITNs given to them free of charge. On behalf of these communities we serve, Physicians for Social Justice expresses our deep and profound gratitude to all our donors who have contributed to this project.  We know some of you have donated over and over again to this project. Your donations have saved thousands of lives, and just imagine how many more children would have died of malaria without your donation last year. Your donations added up to raise over $9000USD in support of our work in 2017.  May the year 2018 bring fulfilment and prosperity to all of you.