On April 25th people across the globe take part in a wide range of activities to mark World Malaria Day. For half the world every day is malaria day - a day to keep up the fight against this killer disease.
The theme, set by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, is Invest in the future: Defeat malaria. This reflects the ambitious goals and targets set out in a draft post-2015 strategy to be presented to the World Health Assembly in May. The new strategy aims to reduce malaria cases and deaths by 90% by 2030 from current levels.
Key Malaria Control Messages
- Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs): Everyone in the family needs to sleep under an ITN, especially those most vulnerable to malaria: pregnant women and children under five years.
- Diagnosis and treatment of malaria cases: Everyone with a fever, especially children under five years, needs to go to a facility promptly and have the fever diagnosed by a rapid diagnostic test or microscopy and then take the prescribed malaria treatment, if it’s malaria.
- Intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy (IPTp): Pregnant women need to go an antenatal clinic (ANC) within the first trimester and return for additional visits, taking at least 2 doses of IPTp.
- Indoor residual spraying (IRS): Families who are targeted for an IRS campaign need to prepare their homes for spraying and allow sprayers entry
Key Actions, by Intervention and Target Audience
ITNs: Delivered free through mass campaigns, routine delivery through ANC/immunization visits, social marketing, voucher programs, retail market
Families, decision makers, mothers
• Acquire ITNs
• Hang ITNs correctly; use them consistently
• Wash the ITN with “regular” soap and hang (or lay) to dry in the shade
Health service providers and community volunteers, distributors (vendors)
• Promote ITNs at every opportunity (for example, antenatal clinic visits, child visits)
• Give information on how/when to use ITN, including demonstrating how to hang
• Distribute and explain vouchers as needed and provide information on where to get ITNs
Community leaders, organizations
• Promote ITNs at every opportunity (for example, community meetings, child health days) and special events and demonstrate use, hanging
IPTp: Delivered through routine ANC visits, at least twice during pregnancy
Women, mothers
• Attend ANC in first trimester and return for each scheduled visit
• Take number of SP doses recommended by country policy.
Health service providers
• Provide correct SP dose to healthy pregnant women at correct times; explain its purpose and potential side effects; ideally the woman will be observed taking her treatment
• Encourage early and frequent ANC attendance; give appointments for next visit
Community leaders, organizations
• Encourage early and frequent ANC visits, especially for IPTp
IRS: Delivered through annual or semiannual campaigns prior to rainy season in targeted areas of a country.
Families
• Prepare buildings before spraying
• Allow sprayers inside home
• Don’t wash or replaster walls after spraying is done.
Sprayers
• Carry out effective, quality operations
• Wear protective equipment (ensure women who spray are not pregnant, potentially exposing the foetus)
Community leaders, organizations
• Facilitate spraying within their communities (planning, discussing with community, etc.)
REMEMBER:
The husband who buys a treated net for his pregnant wife to use nightly shows he is wise and forward-thinking, that he is investing in his family’s future.
Source:RHPU/BAR
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