Guess what time it is?! It’s World Malaria Month and Peace
Corps Rwanda is having our annual competition for raising awareness. What is
this “competition” you might ask? Well, PCVs from every region in Rwanda host
and participate in events to raise awareness about malaria and the prevention
of this disease. The winning region gets a prize, and individuals compete for
gift cards, free nights at hotels, and delicious foods that we don’t usually
have (i.e. cake WITH frosting).
World Malaria Month also coincides with the transition from
the short rainy season to the long dry season, where we see a serious spike in
the number of malaria cases throughout the country. For those of you who aren’t
aware, here are a few fun/not-so-fun facts about malaria:
3.2 billion people live in areas at risk of malaria
transmission throughout 106 countries and territories (cdc.gov)
The World Health Organization estimates that there were
about 214 million clinical cases of malaria worldwide, resulting in 438,000
deaths (cdc.gov)
90% of the deaths caused by malaria world-wide occur in
Africa, with children under the age of 5 being most at risk.
In my sector, considered to be an extremely rural area, our
health center receives between 200-250 new cases of malaria daily during the
transition seasons.
Sooooo I’ll admit, this was supposed to be posted about a
month ago and I just didn’t have time to do it. We have concluded World Malaria
Month and I am proud to say that the East (my region) was the winner of this
year’s competition! In my village, I did several bed net care and repair
demonstrations, checked nets at the local boarding school/ helped them apply to
receive new nets, and taught lessons to kids at various different schools.
Enjoy the pictures :)
No comments:
Post a Comment