Scouts Tackling Malaria Disease in Africa

Malaria is a disease that infects up to 200 million people worldwide and is caused by the bite of a mosquito carrying a parasite which infects the liver and attacks the red blood cells. This results in the death of more than 600,000 persons annually, primarily young children under the age of 5 years old.

What is disturbing is that the fight against malaria faces rising threats from increasing resistance to some insecticides, changes in climate resulting in more extreme weather conditions – like flooding which results in stagnant pools of water in which mosquitos can breed and warmer climate resulting in expansion of the habitats of mosquitos and accelerating their development, and financing gaps in providing preventative measures, medicines, and vaccines.

The cumulative result of these threats is that progress in fighting malaria has stalled since 2015. Malaria is an ever-evolving disease so if we continue to do just enough to combat it, any progress that is made, could simply be eroded away and consequently many more persons could die. 

While a variety of solutions exist to prevent people being bitten by a mosquito carrying the parasite, the most cost-effective solution is to sleep under an insecticide treated bed net. This not only prevents the mosquito from biting a person, but also the insecticide with which the nets are treated, can kill the mosquito. However, only half of the population of Africa, where the disease is most prevalent, are protected currently by bed nets.

Scouts in Malawi, Ghana, and Uganda, with the support of UK Scouts, took it upon themselves to do something to tackle the disease. Through the Scouts Against Malaria project have been purchasing and distributing insecticide treated bed nets to vulnerable people in their countries, and engaging communities in malaria prevention awareness. This has enabled them to contribute to saving lives, especially of infants, pregnant women, and other vulnerable members of society and accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world.

Chinyolo Campaign in the Norther Region of Malawi

In Chinyolo Village, District of Rumphi in the Northern Region of Malawi, the Scouts are reaching out to vulnerable and under privileged communities especially in rural and hard-to-reach areas where 200 people (125 females and 75) males) with physical challenges, orphans, children under 5 years, widows, and elderly have been identified as beneficiaries of the distribution of insecticide treated bed nets. 

Working with the local Nthenje Health Center, they also conducted a Malaria sensitization campaign and net distribution in the area that has one of the highest malaria prevalence rates in the country. They sang songs encouraging the beneficiaries to sleep under the nets they have received every night throughout the whole year.

Gogo Liness Sapwe, another of the beneficiaries, says she is very thankful to the Scouts for giving her the mosquito net because this will accelerate development at her home since she will be sleeping under the mosquito net, and she will not suffer from malaria. She further asked the Scouts to consider extending this good gesture to all elderly women in the community who did not receive the nets. 

The Chief and the community leaders appreciated the good work done by the Scouts in aiding the fight against malaria. The community members pleaded with the Scouts to scale up the project to reach out to many more families.

Aflao-Agblekpui Campaign in the Volta Region of Ghana

As part of their 2024 Founders Day Celebration activities, the Ghana Scouts Association distributed 100 insecticide treated mosquito nets to the people of Agblekpui in the Volta Region. This was to increase access to and utilization of mosquito nets among residents of Aflao-Agblekpui community to reduce malaria transmission and improve overall health outcomes in the community.

They were warmly welcomed by the local Chief who offered his team to help the Scouts move around from one household to another distributing the nets and educating community members on how to use them. In each household, the team took time to educate the people on how to fix the net and how to maintain it so it lasts long. The exercise was done with focus on pregnant women, lactating mothers, children and the aged who are the most affected by the disease in Aflao-Agblekpui.

The team then moved to Aflao-Agblekpui Basic School, where they gathered the people and educated them on how to use mosquito nets to protect themselves and their families from malaria, as well as giving a practical demonstration on how to fix mosquito net. Following the sensitization, mosquito nets were provided to each of the over 2002 people present.

The Scouts Against Malaria is one way Scouts are making a contribution towards the realization of SDG #3 on good health and well-being within the framework of World Scouting’s Health and Well-being initiative.

We hope that other Scouts will take part in this project by learning about malaria, why it so deadly, how it can be prevented and how as little as £5 raised could save a life. The project has also developed a wide range of activities suitable for all age sections which together with a slide set and videos of current campaigns can be downloaded from the project website www.scoutsagainstmalaria.org.uk.

Scout Groups is willing to join this global partnership to fight malaria can visit the project or send an email to info@scoutsagainstmalaria.org.uk.