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Fighting malaria in Papua New Guinea and in the Solomon Islands
By Walter Buchanan,
Rotary Club of Aspley, QLD Australia
Governor-Elect, District 9600
Let us not forget the charge RI President DK Lee has given to us
all, to Make Dreams Real.
One of the areas for us to focus on
is child health. In DK Lee’s December message he said, “We will not
rest until we Make Dreams Real for every child in every home where
there is hunger, sickness, and want. As Rotarians we can do no
less.”
Each year there are up to half a billion new cases of
malaria and as many as two million deaths globally, mostly affecting
children under five years of age.
Spraying
insecticide to kill disease-carrying
mosquitoes can make
quite a dramatic sight.
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With the change in weather patterns and the associated
warmer conditions, the malaria carrying mosquito can develop and
grow at a faster rate. Today, this enemy, the mosquito and malaria
parasite, attacks the vulnerable of our society, the children.
In the past, during World War II, the hidden killer, malaria,
was one of the most powerful enemies of Australian troops in
New Guinea and Papua as well as in the Solomon Islands.
Malaria casualties during 1942 and 1943 were so serious that the
Australian War Cabinet thought there would be insufficient
reinforcements to maintain the army at strength in
New Guinea.
At the front
line was the soldier; here he was confronted by the constant and
ever present enemy, the Anopheles mosquito.
Today the fight
continues, and the enemy is the same, malaria carried by the
ubiquitous mosquito.
Malaria is one of the world’s most
prevalent diseases. It is estimated that more than 3000 children
will die each night due to malaria. Just consider: Tragically, one
child dies every 30 seconds from malaria, a disease that is highly
treatable and preventable.
Today, Rotary is on active duty in
Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and other parts of the world
fighting to significantly reduce both the morbidity and mortality of
malaria over the next five years.
One of the weapons being
used in this battle is the program that invites Rotary clubs,
private sector organizations and individuals to “Adopt A Village”.
Adopt A Village is a concept that attacks all the most
pressing problems of poverty in one project for a single group of
people, a village. In essence, a Rotary club in the developed
country could “adopt” a village and the provision of treated
mosquito nets to reduce malaria is guaranteed.
If the village is accessible and communication is possible other
supportive projects may be possible. When you adopt a village in Papua New Guinea
you know that you will almost certainly save a life but you will
also improve the life of every person who is given the opportunity
to sleep under a treated net.
The adoption of a small village
may cost US$750, a medium size village may cost US$1,500 and a large
village may cost US$2250.
Within
Papua New Guinea
there are approximately 9000 village areas available for adoption.
These efforts are making a difference, and millions of people
have already benefited from insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor
spraying, and anti-malaria medicine.
Experts agree that to
control malaria, and ultimately to ensure that families can live
malaria-free lives, a comprehensive approach is necessary.
Treated mosquito nets over all bedding is one of the
most effective strategies in the fight against the
spread of malaria.
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Such an approach involves providing insecticide-treated mosquito
nets, spraying the inside walls of houses with insecticides,
providing access to diagnosis and anti-malarial drugs, and providing
a packet of interventions through strengthened ante-natal care
services for pregnant women.
Underpinning these four is
education – empowering families and communities with the knowledge
and resources to combat the disease. Additionally, while we work to
control malaria through available tools, we need to continue to
support the development of a vaccine.
Enlist now and join
with the army of Rotarians working towards achieving better public
health outcomes, which includes fighting malaria.
The World Health Organization has recognized April 25 as World
Malaria Day, but as that date has special significance for armed
forces veterans in both Australia and New
Zealand, we consider the week following Anzac
Day is the practical alternative and have therefore selected April
30, in Australia, as
Malaria Awareness Day.
Strategies have been developed to
enable all 23 Australian Districts and nearly 1200 clubs to
participate in whatever way they choose.
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