Preventing Childhood Malaria Deaths in Mashegu

Two week s ago, PSJ’s community health team visited Tegina community. It was the team’s second visit to the community this year 2015. The malaria outreach focused on clinical consultations, health education of caregivers about how to prevent malaria and detect danger signs of malaria, as well as distribution of vitamin A supplements to children under five. For some of the women, it was the first time in their lifetime that they welcomed community health workers into their homes to receive health education on malaria prevention and how to detect danger signs in children who have come down with malaria. While the health worker was talking to a group of women about how malaria complication can quickly snuff the lives of children if untreated early enough, it reminded me of the death of my younger brother (aged about two years then) who succumbed to malaria some years back in our village. It happened so quickly within a few days that he developed fever. That single incidence was both devastating and traumatic for me even up till today, especially with all the knowledge that I now have about malaria prevention and treatment. The truth is, my brother would not and should not have died, had my parents known more about how to detect danger signs of malaria early enough. Because of this personal tragedy, I vowed to wage war against malaria for the rest of my life; to prevent the fate of other children following the same path as my late brother.

To our donors, your donations have enabled this project to sustain the offensive campaign against malaria. Thank you for your generosity. Within the next couple of weeks, we will be distributing additional 2000 Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN) procured through a generous donation from Wellspring Advisors, a private philanthropic advisory firm with offices in New York, NY and Washington, DC. The ITNs will be distributed free to children under five, nursing mothers and pregnant women in 3 rural communities in rural Niger State. Recent research finding show that regular use of ITNs can reduce mortality due to malaria in children by as much as 30percent. Our team will continue to seek resources to expand our offensive beyond Mashegu to reach children in rural communities who are constantly under attack from malaria.

On behalf of the communities we serve, we express our sincere gratitude to you our individual and corporate donors who made financial contributions to this project so far. We know some of you have donated over and over again to this project. Just imagine how many more children would have died of malaria without your donation this year.
Thank you very much for all your support!