Malaria Month!

This April, all over Guinea, nay, all over Africa, PCVs are working to Stomp Out Malaria. What does that mean? It means we're holding awareness raising bike rides, soccer games with malaria education half-time shows, malaria classroom lessons, home visits to teach bednet cleaning and use, and many many more activities. Our brilliant Malaria Coordinator, Sean, has made malaria month into a contest between regions in Guinea, which has really lit a fire under our bottoms to get out the word. It should have been in conjunction with a nation-wide bednet distribution campaign, but unfortunately for my region, the funds didn't come through in time, so we'll have to wait til June to get bednets in our communities. Nonetheless, Basse Cote really came together to plan some activities that we really hope can bring change to our communities.

Why does it matter? You might ask this question because you don't know how big of a problem malaria is. Or you might ask this question because you know just how widespread malaria is, and you can't believe a month-long campaign could make much of a dent.

For the first crowd: Malaria is a huuuuuge problem in Guinea, and in Africa as a whole. The statistics in Guinea are very poorly tracked and defined, but the picture that emerges is pretty clear. A large portion of our Guinean friends and colleagues have had malaria or le palu as it's called here, many many times. It's like the flu in America. Teachers in the US may find partially empty classrooms and the reason is "the flu". Teachers like me find half empty classrooms here, and the reason is le palu (even though it probably wasn't diagnosed, and it most likely isn't being treated as it should be). In Africa as a whole, the effect on high-risk populations (pregnant women, children, and people living with HIV/AIDS) is stunning. In pregnant women, "[m]alaria in pregnancy increases the risk of maternal anaemia, stillbirth, spontaneous abortion, low birth weight and neonatal death", according to WHO. Every 30 seconds, a child dies of malaria. Hold up, wait a second---malaria is a treatable, preventable disease and two children die PER MINUTE because of it.

That's a big problem in my world.

For the second crowd: Yes, 103 volunteers in a country the size of Oregon can't change culturally-embedded values and beliefs in the course of a month. But we must start somewhere, and how better to motivate a group of mostly young Americans--competition! So we've been trained up and sent back to our communities, full of ideas and activities that we hope will empower our friends and family here to modify their behavior in a way that stops the malaria transmission cycle and cuts down on the needless death, illness, and economic loss that comes with malaria. Do we think that every person we speak to will heed our call and immediately change their behavior, avoiding malaria for the rest of their lives? No. But change is slow, and that's OK. Our hope is with this intense period of activity in the "Fight Against Malaria" (direct translate from French), we can have a jumping off point for the impact of Peace Corps Volunteers in Guinea.

What can I do? Great question! Malaria is a global problem. All of you can help in the fight against malaria by donating to organizations working on the ground, by educating yourself and others about the realities of malaria, and by organizing World Malaria Day events on April 25.

Donations: It's very hard to get donations specifically to Guinea, but 2 great organizations for all of Africa are:
Against Malaria
Malaria No More

Education:
Follow my blog! (and tell others to!)
Follow @StompM_Guinea and @StompOutMalaria on Twitter (please let me know if you do!)
Like "Stomp Out Malaria" on Facebook (Again, let me know please!)
Read all the BAMM 2013 (Blog About Malaria Month) blogs here

Organize:
Search the web to find World Malaria Day events near you! Do you have a community group or classroom that might not know about World Malaria Day? Take 15-30 minutes to tell them more about this global issue and join in the fight! If you do, let me know, and I'll feature your activities here on my blog, and you'll get a shout-out by Stomp Out Malaria Guinea!

Malaria is a treatable, preventable disease that kills millions every year. Do your part to stop the needless loss that malaria causes.