Malaria

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Malaria

The fight continues...

Each year malaria kills more people worldwide than HIV/AIDS (about 3 million people), with the majority of the deaths occurring in children under five years of age. Unlike AIDS, malaria can be prevented and cured.

Sumba has one of the highest occurrences of malaria in Asia. An estimated 20% of all children die or become severely brain damaged by malaria before the age of 10. Our village surveys tell us that one in three mothers have lost at least one child to malaria and our clinical surveys of targeted villages show that 62% of the children below the age of 5 and 30% of the total population surveyed had malaria.

That infection rate has now been drastically reduced by 85% in those children living in villages that have been more than two years in our Malaria Control Program.

To address this urgent problem, in 2004 we retained a world renowned malaria expert, Dr. Claus Bogh, and began our comprehensive Malaria Control Program covering 603 people in 6 villages. Since then this program is benefiting more than 22,000 people living in 400 villages. 8,000 treated mosquito nets have distributed free of charge with more than 12,000 people sleeping safer and protected at night. Hundreds of lives have been saved annually.

Our comprehensive approach includes; conducting baseline testing to establish existing malaria infection rates and a population census for each village, the distribution of insecticide treated mosquito nets for each household, on-going testing and treatment for malaria cases, and consistent monitoring of bed net usage and maintenance. We provide free mosquito nets to everyone living in the villages our program covers.

Our five clinics are strategically placed to be relatively easily accessible throughout the region and we are very proud that our clinics are staffed with WHO expert certified microscopists who provide the best diagnosis and treatment in the country. Our program has reduced the overall infection rates in villages by 85% and has saved the lives of many children who without our intervention would surely have died. Our goal is to eliminate all deaths from malaria in our project areas and to reduce the number of malaria cases by at least 90%.

Funding is crucial to the long term sustainability and success of our work. Donors are very welcome to visit the villages and the people they are helping. If the project director, Dr. Claus Bogh, is in Sumba he will be happy to discuss the projects and give a tour of our malaria clinic and our microscopy facility where you will have the opportunity to see what malaria parasites look like.

JOIN US IN THE FIGHT AGAINST MALARIA

On average we are able to protect communities for as little as $15 per person. This includes the purchase and distribution of specially made mosquito nets that are imported from India. The nets are produced from synthetic fibers that are impregnated with Pyrethrum, a natural mosquito repellant. It also includes, dipstick and laboratory blood testing, medical treatment with anti-malarial medicines, hiring and training of village health workers, and the on-going compliance monitoring and maintenance of the program.

Malaria is a debilitating disease that kills many of the young and older people in the villages, controlling this disease is crucial to our goal of improving the health of the Sumbanese. Improved heath equates to more productivity, which in our areas means more farms, more food and eventually the start of small economies that are the first steps to poverty reduction.

US$25,000 … THE COST TO PROTECT A LARGE 10 SQUARE MILE REGION.

US$12,500 … THE COST TO PROTECT A COMMUNITY OF VILLAGES.

US$3,000 …. THE COST TO ADOPT AND PROTECT 200 PEOPLE FROM THE RAVAGES OF MALARIA

US$100 …….. THE COST OF 10 IMPORTED MOSQUITO NETS FOR 6 FAMILIES

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