Last year, malaria claimed the lives of almost 750,000 people in
sub-Saharan Africa, 85 percent of them young children. Some of the
region’s poorest residents live in Yirimadjo, Mali, and are receiving
protection from the disease through a Rotary Foundation Global Grant project supported by Rotarians in four countries. (click below to read more)
Called Bite Malaria Back, the project is providing
insecticide-treated bed nets, physician services, and medications to
help prevent and treat malaria. It is led by the Rotary Club of
Bamako-Amitié, Mali, along with the Rotary Club of Capitol Hill
(Washington, D.C.) and five others in District 7620 (District of
Columbia; part of Maryland, USA).
Club members are working with Project Muso Ladamunen, a
nongovernmental organization whose goal is to end the cycle of poverty
and disease in Yirimadjo. The Bamako-Amitié club is helping to
coordinate Rotarians’ role in the effort.
During its first three months (February-April), Bite Malaria Back
made possible more than 3,000 patient visits at the Yirimadjo Health
Center. It also facilitated more than 12,700 visits by community health
workers to residents’ homes, resulting in the treatment of almost 900
children with malaria -- over 80 percent within the first 48 hours of
the onset of symptoms, when medical intervention is critical.
The effort supports the disease prevention and treatment area of focus under the Foundation’s Future Vision Plan. It is funded by a $26,666 global grant and more than $33,000 in sponsor contributions from Future Vision pilot
districts 3140 (part of Maharashtra, India), 7620, and 9100 (parts of
West Africa). The Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile, Hong Kong, a
nonpilot club, has also contributed funds to the project.
Rotarians in Mali are monitoring malaria-related consultations and
services that patients receive from physicians. “We have also gone to
see how the field workers go house to house to visit patients and make
the project felt by the community,” says Sunny Akuopha, until recently a
member of the Bamako-Amitié club, now of the Rotary Club of Bamako
Ouest. “The project has had tremendous impact by reducing the mortality
rate and mortality-prone situations.”
In June, Bite Malaria Back completed a survey of every household in
Yirimadjo, which has more than 56,700 residents, and determined that
over 22,300 bed nets are needed. The Against Malaria Foundation has
committed to support the project, which will enable 21,500 bed nets to
be distributed in July.
“By leveraging Rotary’s bold commitment to mobilize additional
partners, Rotary’s impact will be multiplied manyfold,” says Ari
Johnson, co-executive director and founder of Project Muso Ladamunen. He
adds that the Mali Ministry of Health is being asked to provide the
remaining bed nets needed to reach every resident in the community.
The Capitol Hill club used social networking to raise funds for the project through Crowdrise. It is also using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to keep Rotarians up-to-date about the initiative’s progress and to coordinate media coverage.
“It is not acceptable for nearly one million children to die each
year of a disease like malaria, which can be cured with a few dollars’
worth of effective medications, efficiently delivered to the thousands
of children who need them,” says Capitol Hill club member Maria Nelly
Pavisich.
“We are seeing incredible changes happening in the communities we
serve,” says Johnson, reflecting on Rotary’s role. “I am at a loss for
words to express our gratitude for your efforts in heroically
championing the Bite Malaria Back vision.”
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