War on Malaria

When most people think of disease in Africa, HIV/AIDS typically comes to mind as the most severe problem; however, malaria claims more lives annually and creates a miserable yearly routine for many Africans.  During the rainy season in Malawi, which runs from November to April, many villagers end up contracting malaria multiple times.  It is difficult to find a Malawian family that is untouched by the disease, which is the leading cause of death in the country.  In a “From the Field” article on the Malaria Vaccine Initiative’s website, the Jackson family from Chakwindima, a rural village west of Lilongwe, is profiled.  Despite taking precautions, the Jacksons contracted the disease a total of 14 times between 5 family members over the course of the 2007-2008 malaria season.

“We sleep under bed nets every night,” said Jacques Jackson, 36, the father.  “But we also spend some time in the early evening outside,” a time thick with mosquitoes, which transmit the disease-causing parasite to humans when they bite them.

Mary Jackson, the mother, “prepares food for us and cooks outside.  The children like to be close to their mother, and so they are outside with her.  And maybe they even are bitten when they sleep under the nets, because they often roll right up against the nets, where the mosquitoes can get them.”

http://www.malariavaccine.org/FromthefieldSeptember2008.php

By James Ratemo, jratemo@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Wednesday, October 19  2011 at  15:32

In fact, malaria claims close to 800,000 lives annually, most of which are young children living in Sub-Saharan Africa, and costs African countries more than $12 billion in lost GDP.  With staggering figures such as these, it is easy to see how a potential solution to the malaria crisis could change the lives and futures of millions of Africans.  Although malaria vaccines have been in the works for decades, none have come close to the success of the recent Phase III trials of RTS,S, a drug first developed by GlaxoSmithKlein over 25 years ago to be used by the U.S. military.  More recently, the project has been backed by grant monies from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is committed to eradicating malaria worldwide.

Preliminary results from Phase III trials of RTS,S, released October 18, 2011, show that it protected nearly half of the children who received it with acceptable safety and tolerability.  Clinical trials will include tests of over 15,000 children and are scheduled to continue through 2014.

To read the entire article:

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/New+vaccine+fights+malaria+better++study+shows/-/1066/1258052/-/item/0/-/frsujp/-/index.html

And check out this video from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, whose $200 million grant is contributing to the development of RTS,S:

And now for a word from our Youth to Youth (Y2Y) team!

The Y2Y session in Malawi wrapped up last week after a very successful four week program. Here are some highlights from our three amazing volunteers, Maïlyse, Lindsey, and Lucy:

“It is the first day of our first camp, Balangombe, and the bus pulls up to school. Before we are even able to park we are bombarded with smiling kids who are yelling and cheering. I think that is when it finally hit us all that we are in MALAWI! Morning songs that first day were by the far the best of the whole trip. There was an overwhelming amount of energy from everyone. The whole morning was a whirl of excitement, especially when we got assigned our first class.

No other day of camp can compare to that first day, it was amazing and everything we wanted.

Our next favorite memory comes from Balangombe as well. It was our third day and probably the hardest, funniest, most exhausting day from the whole trip. This day was probably the most memorable day of our whole stay here. We learned how to keep control of our kids, how to NICELY tell them to be quiet, and most importantly, we learned how to laugh at ourselves, and be patient when things don’t go perfectly.

Our first weekend we went to Lake Malawi with just Y2Y, it was some great bonding time. The next day, we taught a modified HIV curriculum in a really great center for local disadvantaged kids. The kids were all ages, and had a ton of fun in class and showing us their gardens. It was a good experience!

We arrived at our third camp with a sign saying, “You are most welcome to Kasiya Primary School.” The minute we got off the bus, we knew this was going to be another amazing school! And it sure was!

At the end of our four days when it was time to give them their very own AIDS Ribbons, they were bouncing off the wall…literally. We definitely were thankful for their enthusiasm.”

Next stop was SAFARI! While driving to Wildlife Camp, we saw an elephant and Mailyse was…let’s just say, excited! We were greeted by the owner telling us that it’s not uncommon for hippos, elephants and even lions to come at our tent! We took a safari drive that night. It was beautiful to see the sunset and animals! We saw a leopard, hyenas and even a fearless honey badger.”

Thanks to our wonderful Y2Y volunteers for all their hard work, enthusiasm, and positive energy this summer! We are excited to start incorporating some new changes to the curriculum and program that this Y2Y group helped develop.

Submitted by: Maïlyse Ferber, Lucy Keener, Lindsey Wirht, Malawi Y2Y 2011 volunteers; Rachel Dudasik and Katie Sacca, Y2Y 2011 Program Coordinators