Malaria in Ethiopia

In 2005, US President George W. Bush instituted the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) to "fight malaria in the region most affected by the disease. The President committed. . . $1.2 billion in malaria funding to this Initiative with the goal of reducing malaria-related deaths by 50 percent in 15 focus countries", including Ethiopia.

Five years later the PMI is still going strong. On the 26th of April 2010, "[t]housands of Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets, or mosquito bed-nettings, were handed out by a U.S. Army Civil Affairs team to the people" in malaria-endemic regions of Ethiopia.

"We are distributing 35,000 nets to a population of approximately 93,000 people," said Lieutenant Daniel Deckard, commander of the Civil Affairs team, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. "That's approximately two nets per household," he said.

The distributed nets are treated with insecticides to repel and kill mosquitoes in addition to serving as a physical barrier between humans and flying insects. Insecticide treated nets are estimated to be twice as effective as standard nets and may reduce malaria transmission by up to seventy percent (when used correctly). Participants in the PMI not only distribute nets, they are also "properly installing the nets in optimal locations within homes and are giving directions and other vital information to homeowners about proper use to minimize possible hazards and maximize protection" against malaria.

Malaria "is one of the leading causes of the deaths of pregnant women and children under five years of age in Africa. . .Malaria is a blood-borne infection caused by parasites and transmitted to people by the bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes, which are active from dusk to dawn, according to the PMI website. Malaria usually begins as a flu-like illness with fever and chills. Mild to moderate anemia is also common because the malaria parasite infects and destroys red blood cells."

Untreated, malaria may cause severe anemia, organ failure, coma, and death.

Based on the annual reports (reporting began in 2006), malaria relief efforts are producing results. For example:
* Zambia has seen a 10% decrease in malaria cases
* In Rwanda, child mortality rate has dropped from 168 deaths/1,000 to 119 deaths/1,000
* Infant mortality rate in Tanzania has also dropped

The initiative expects to see similar or better improvements in Ethiopia.


Sources:
Barnett, Robert. "Fighting Malaria in Ethiopia". The Ethiopian Review. 4 May 2010. http://www.ethiopianreview.com/articles/32007

PMI: Saving Lives in Africa. http://www.fightingmalaria.gov/

Ethiopia's epic battle against the Waba and malaria

Wäba: a mosquito that is carrying malaria (Amharic).

Does it strike you as strange that a language would have a specific term for a malaria-carrying mosquito? In a country that has seen 9 million cases of malaria per year, a distinction between malaria-infested mosquitoes and unaffected mosquitoes is necessary (UNICEF). Ethiopia is hit hard by malaria, but with tremendous dedication, the country is making advances against the disease.

"Historically, a malaria epidemic hits Ethiopia every five to eight years. The last one, in 2003-and four, caught the country unaware. Millions contracted the disease. Nobody knows how many died." Now, "Ethiopia is gearing up for an epic battle with malaria, possibly later this year. The stakes are high, with international aid agencies betting millions of dollars that the Horn of Africa's largest country can wipe out a disease that kills at least a million Africans every year" (Heinlein).

"Malaria is seasonal in Ethiopia coming after the beginning of the rainy season. September and October are usually the months that see the highest number of cases. Will there be more than usual this year? The head of USAID's malaria programme in Ethiopia, Richard Reithinger, says only time will tell, but if it is an epidemic year then some 10 million cases could be expected" (Chinnock). "Aid agencies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to prevent the next outbreak" and "30,000 health extension workers" have been deployed to combat malaria by eradicating mosquitoes and educating the public (Heinlein). "Hospitals are also being put on alert and, meanwhile, the country continues with its ambitious programme to distribute 20 million insecticide-treated bednets" (Chinnock). "In a country with a doctor shortage and a mostly rural population...bednets for all, and an army of village-level health workers are the cornerstones of the strategy to beat the disease" (Heinlein).

The strategy of maintaining village health personnel and distributing anti-mosquito bednets is working for Ethiopia. "In 2005, the Ethiopian government unveiled an ambitious strategy, with donor support, to deliver two mosquito nets to every family at risk. By January 2008, 20.5 million bed nets had been delivered and a third of at-risk children were sleeping in safety... Within three years of the start of the program, cases of malaria, and death rates, had been halved" (Coghlan). With continued support, Ethiopia might just be able to make malaria a disease of the past.

Sources:
Chinnock, Paul. "Ethiopia will expand malaria control efforts." TropIKA.net. 23 Mar 2009.
Coghlan, Nora. "SMART Aid helps Ethiopia halve malaria deaths in two years." ONE International. 12 June 2009.
Heinlein, Peter. Addis Ababa. "Ethiopia Prepares for Battle with Malaria." VOA News. 20 March 2009.
UNICEF Ethiopia. http://www.unicef.org/ethiopia/malaria.html