It's Blog About Malaria Month (it even has a catchy acronym- BAMM!) and I'm kicking it off with an update about some of the malaria-related events Senegal has going on. It's also apparently grilled cheese month (GCM?), which I also plan on celebrating, but that's for another blog post.
I got back to Linguere yesterday after a quick trip to Thies where I helped Senegal's current Regional Malaria Initiative Coordinator, Mike Toso (whose position I'll be filling after he leaves next month) with a training session about malaria for the brand new batch of PC Trainees, who arrived about a month ago. We gave a snazzy Prezi presentation that Mike and his predecessor, Jessie put together- complete with interesting videos about the history of malaria:
...and it's lifecycle:
The trainees seemed excited to hear about malaria and what roles they can play in combatting it during their service- I'm really looking forward to working with them.
It's always a treat to get updates on the Stomp Out Malaria program and its' initiatives (http://stompoutmalaria.org/); knowing that you're a part of something with so many people working towards the same goal is a pretty good motivator. Mike also had news on Senegal-wide events; there's never a dull moment here.
Here in the Louga Region, and the beautiful but off-limits (due to civil conflict) Ziguinchor Region south of The Gambia, the National Malaria Control Program and its partners, especially NetWorks (http://www.jhuccp.org/node/1538) are getting ready to roll out a mosquito net distribution. This distribution is the next phase after the universal distribution that we had last year. It will be primarily based in schools- educating students on malaria and net use and care then providing them with nets to sleep under. I'm really excited about this; my favorite experiences here have involved working with students, and this initiative has the potential for some amazing results. Nets will also be stocked in all health structures, they'll be available to anyone who comes in for a visit for a low cost and pregnant women for free. Finally, community organizations will be provided with nets. The NetWorks personnel assigned to this area are set to arrive any day now, and we'll get started with planning, training, and distribution. If last year's distribution was any example, this will be a lot of work, but totally worth it.
As a follow-up to the distributions, a few Linguere-area volunteers are planning a net care and repair tourney, a project that caught on through Stomp Out Malaria, and has been very successful here in Senegal. Volunteers will go to various villages, ask people to bring torn, dirty, or otherwise damaged nets in, then teach them how to wash, sew, or repair them until they're good as new.
We're also getting ready for World Malaria Day- April 25. There are lots of activities in the works- stay tuned.
It's all very exciting, and I'll be updating as these things actually happen.
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