Preventing Childhood Malaria Deaths in Mashegu

PSJ’s malaria prevention outreach activities continue to impact positively on the overall health and well-being of people in poor communities in rural Niger State. The project staff continue to work under very challenging security environment in northern Nigeria.

As the rainy season approaches, the period when malaria transmission is highest, the project has stepped up awareness creation and sensitization of individuals and families on simple environmental engineering and behaviour modifications that can help them eliminate malaria vector (female anopheles mosquitoes) breeding sites in and around their homes. Families especially pregnant women were also educated on the importance of sleeping inside insecticide treated nets and on the need to receive Intermittent malaria Prophylaxis Treatment (IPT), to protect their unborn babies against malaria. We also continue to support health facilities in the use of malaria Rapid Diagnostic kits for proper diagnosis of malaria so that appropriate treatment can be instituted in a timely manner. Also during outreach activities, PSJ’s malaria team continued to emphasize and educate families especially mothers on how to recognize early symptoms and signs of malaria and on the need for sick children to receive prompt medical attention. This is particularly important because most of the deaths due to malaria among the under-5 children is due to delays in instituting treatment for such children.
Within this reporting period, we conducted outreaches in Agwara, Magama and Kashin communities. The project reached 530 pregnant mothers and 865 children under-5 with targeted prophylaxis, treatment and/ or insecticide treated nets.

Our malaria team also continued to focus on both health facility and school-based malaria education sessions for pregnant women (during antenatal sessions) and children in the rural communities we serve. Children who participated in these health education sessions now serve as messengers, taking what they have learnt to their various homes. One of the testimonials is that of a 6year old pupil, Hadiza, who took the malaria prevention message she learnt when our malaria team visited her school home, and succeeded in persuading her expectant mother to go to the clinic for antenatal care so she (mother) can benefit from IPT (malaria prevention treatment given to pregnant women at intervals). She also pleaded with her father to clear the vegetation in their house and remove all containers that could serve as mosquito breeding ground around their home.

Finally, we express our profound gratitude to all our individual donors who support the work we do, most of whom have donated over and over again to this project. We are also especially grateful to our corporate donors such as Wellspring Advisors for the massive donation to this project. Thank you for supporting the work we do. Your support to our work is our biggest strength. On behalf of the communities we serve, we say thank you for all your donations.