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| Map of Uganda |
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THE FACTS ARE SHOCKING.
Malaria is the biggest infectious disease killer worldwide. 500 million people get malaria annually. 3 million children die from malaria each year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, malaria is the biggest killer of children under 5 years and is responsible for the majority of miscarriages and maternal health problems.
Even more shocking is that malaria is easily preventable! For example, sleeping under a long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito net (LLIN) can reduce the incidence of malaria by up to 90%. Additionally, hanging an LLIN can reduce the number of infective mosquitoes within a 300-meter radius of the LLIN. One LLIN can prevent 2 or more children from getting bitten for 5 years. This small, affordable investment can save the lives of children under 5 and pregnant women, and also prevent illness in all other family members. Money will be saved because less money will be spent on the illness, medication, consultation with a doctor, and transport to a medical center. If the majority of people in a village sleep under LLINs, the overall rates of malaria in the village can decrease drastically.
The Soft Power Health Mission
In Uganda, Soft Power Health provides primary and preventative healthcare for rural Ugandans. Soft Power Health trains and operates sustainable education and community-based health programs run by locals and volunteers. Our Uganda Project has a 3-part program:
- The Allan Stone Community Health Clinic/Mukagwa Twekembe
- Malaria Education and Prevention Outreach Program
- Family Planning Education and Administration Outreach Program
The ultimate goal is to make the program sustainable and managed solely by Ugandans.
The Allan Stone Community Health Clinic/Mukagwa Twekembe. Through our education sessions and hut-to-hut visitation, we discovered an enormous need for rural medical care. The nearest hospital can be hours away and very poorly staffed and supplied. Thus, we decided that the construction of a rural clinic would be a huge benefit to the community. The clinic now serves as a treatment center for malaria and other common diseases. However, without the educational portion of healthcare work, the treatment of malaria and other common diseases will do only temporary good. Because of this, Soft Power Health uses the clinic for education, prevention, and treatment of these common diseases in Uganda. The clinic is run by Ugandan doctors, nurses, and lab technicians and provides treatment of primary healthcare problems, vaccinations, family planning, and anti-malarial medication for surrounding villages. The health clinic was finished in January 2006 and was renamed the Allan Stone Community Health Clinic in honor of Jessie's father.
Malaria Education and Prevention Outreach Program. The education and prevention program aims to make Ugandans responsible for their malaria prevention. Education sessions are held at local schools, village meeting places, and outdoor classrooms. The curriculum, using pictorial diagrams and translation into the local language, explains the lifecycle of the malaria parasite, how the parasite is transmitted to humans, the best options for prevention, the financial consequences of getting sick with malaria, and the purpose and instructions for using the mosquito nets. Long lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets are then sold at a subsidized price of 3,000 shillings (roughly $1.75). Soft Power Health sponsors the difference (these nets cost about $8.50 per net). As of April 2009, we have sold over 32,000 nets.
The names of net purchasers and their home villages are recorded during the sale. Two to ten months later, local malaria educators return to purchasers' homes to assess the effectiveness of the net. We want to know whether the net has been a positive intervention. Are people actually sleeping under their nets? Do people who sleep under their nets every night have less malaria? Do people have any problems with their nets? Follow-ups have shown that most people who attend our education sessions hang their nets properly, and have children and pregnant women sleeping under the nets preferentially (approximately 65%). The hut-to-hut follow-ups are also an opportunity to re-educate people about malaria and for us to see any obstacles people have to proper net use.
Family Planning Education and Administration Outreach Program. Uganda has one of the fastest growing populations. This is generally due to lack of education and limited access to family planning resources. Soft Power Health now runs education sessions throughout many villages to educate communities about conception, contraception, sexually transmitted infections, and nutrition. After the family planning education, we return with at least 2 nurses to administer different methods of family planning such as InjectaPlan (Depo-Provera), PilPlan (oral contraceptives), and condoms directly to people who want it in their home villages. The Ugandans are very appreciative of these services and ask when we are coming back. If people ask about permanent methods of contraception, we encourage those people to attend government hospitals or health centers for surgical family planning methods, such as a vasectomy or tubal ligation.
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Malaria can be prevented, treated, and cured!
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Malaria Facts:
- Malaria is caused by a parasite that is transferred by the female anopheles mosquito.
- There are 500 million cases of malaria annually worldwide. This is an underestimate.
- 1-3 million children die every year from malaria mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.
- In Uganda, 30% of the under-five population die each year from malaria.
- 18% of Uganda's GDP is spent combating malaria.
- Malaria is preventable, treatable and curable.
- Education and prevention are the keys to diminishing the malaria problem.
- Mosquito nets help protect people from getting bitten during prime
biting hours, which are 10pm to 4am, thereby reducing morbidity and
mortality associated with malaria.
- One mosquito net costs $9.00 and can prevent 2 children or more from getting bitten for 3-5 years.
- For only $14 a year Soft Power Health can purchase medication to treat malaria for one Ugandan child.
- 20 mosquito nets will cover an average of 60 children and prevent a
total of 360 episodes of malaria (a savings of 1,200,000 Ugandan
shillings alone for each family)
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| Preventing Ugandan children from getting malaria |
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| Net follow-up at a villager's home |
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Our Objectives:
- Provide basic healthcare including but not limited to family planning, prenatal care, vaccinations, HIV/AIDS education, and effective anti-malarial treatment for rural Ugandans.
- Educate the community about the economic benefits of preventative medicine.
- Educate the local community about malaria and family planning through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on techniques.
- Increase availability of affordable long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets and family planing resources for rural Ugandans.
- Reduce infant mortality due to malaria and other preventable diseases
in rural villages throughout Jinja, Kamuli, and Kayunga districts.
- Create sustainable healthcare and health
education programs to be run by local Ugandans with help from medical
and non-medical volunteers.
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How will we achieve these goals?
- Continue the malaria education and prevention program in Jinja, Kamuli, and Kayunga districts, and add other districts as the need arises. This includes training up to
15 new malaria educators from the surrounding villages.
- Continue and expand the subsidized mosquito net distribution program headed by local, Jessica Mugerwa.
- Train 15 new mosquito net distributors to work in surrounding villages.
- Continue to provide family planning to all the villages in Budondo and Butagaya Sub-counties, and follow up on all the villages where we have already provided family planning services.
- Train new family planning educators as needed.
- Contiue to staff and run the rural clinic in Kyabirwa village and aim to provide the best healthcare in the area so that more and more Ugandans will hear about our services and seek treatment from us.
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| A Ugandan mother and her child get treated at the Allan Stone Community Health Clinic |
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| A Ugandan man stands in front of his mosquito net |
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