Together in the Fight Against Malaria

Story and photos by Mandy Glass

In partnership with Rotarians Against Malaria (RAM), our planes are transporting over 20,000 mosquito nets to 7 remote communities accessible only by air between the end of February and Easter 2023.

TOGETHER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST MALARIA

“Malaria is dangerous. 70% of deaths in PNG are caused by malaria. Rotarians Against Malaria aims to reduce deaths caused by malaria.” Jerry Randel,

Jerry Randel, a RAM Officer reports: “I have been assigned to distribute nets here in Lapalama. I will stay here for a fortnight to survey households and distribute mosquito nets in the Lapalama area. Malaria is dangerous. 70% of deaths in PNG are caused by malaria. Rotarians Against Malaria aims to reduce deaths caused by malaria through this initiative. We are doing our best to go to remote areas and protect the people there from malaria.”

After unloading the nets, Sparki, the chairman of the haus sik at Lapalama shared about malaria in his village in the Tok Pisin language.

“Dispela sik malaria em is save kamap long hot ples,” he said. “Mipla stap long hot ples olsem

na mi no inap long stopim. Planti taim ol lain i dai tasol. Tasol taim mipla kisim displa net em save helpim mipla planti taim. So i gutpla long mipla ken usim dispela net, em i gutpla tumas. Mipla putim (ol net) long haus sik, wokim miting, distributim i go long wanwan lain insait long famili bilong ol, insait long lain stret bilong ol. Planti lain, sixpla, sevenpla, etpla lain i stap. Mipla bai skelim inap long kisim na sampla i sot o mi no save tasol, mipla traim skelim.”

(English: “The sickness of malaria exists in hot places. We are living at a hot place, and we are not able to stop it. Often people just die from it. But when we get these nets, that helps a lot. It’s really good for us to use these nets, it’s really good. We take (the nets) to the health post, do a meeting, and distribute them to the different clans and their families. We have many clans here, six, seven, and eight clans in total. We distribute them so people get one, but we might not have enough, I don’t know, we’ll do our best.”)

Malaria deaths have been declining in PNG in recent years. However, PNG still has the highest incidence of malaria disease in the Asia-Pacific region.

RAM aims to eradicate malaria globally using proven interventions such as free mosquito nets, especially long-lasting insecticidal nets. RAM PNG distributes life-saving nets throughout PNG’s malaria areas on a 3-year cycle. This year’s partnership with MAF was to fly nets to airstrips in Enga, Simbu, and Southern Highlands Province. The first flight into a location will have one or two RAM officers on boards who will locally do surveys and train local staff to do them and then allocate the nets. After two weeks, MAF is collecting the officers again.

Jerry Randel is thanking MAF for assisting in the distribution.

“On behalf of RAM,” he said, “I would like to thank MAF for transporting the nets. If it wasn’t for MAF, I don’t know what other airline or transport system we should have used to get here because there is no road connection, and the only way is by plane. So, thank you, MAF. Thank you for delivering the nets here to Lapalama!”

MAF PNG serves nearly 200 bush airstrips. For many target areas in RAM ‘s net distribution program, MAF is the cheapest, most reliable, fastest and safest transport option to reach vulnerable rural communities. MAF and RAM have been working together for over ten years. In 2022, MAF helped distribute nearly 35,000 mosquito nets for RAM to 26 airstrips in Western Province, West Sepik and Hela Province.

MAF’S FIGHT AGAINST MALARIA MALARIA FACTS

COVID PANDEMIC:

• In 2019, before the pandemic struck, there were an estimated 568 000 malaria deaths worldwide. This estimate rose to 625 000 in the first year of the pandemic (2020) and then fell to 619 000 in 2021. During the 2 peak years of the pandemic (2020 and 2021), about 63 000 of the additional malaria deaths could be attributed to disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Between 2019 and 2021, an estimated additional 13.4 million cases were attributed to disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OVERALL CASES

• Globally, there were an estimated 247 million malaria cases in 2021 in 84 malaria endemic countries (including the territory of French Guiana), an increase from 245 million in 2020, with most of this increase coming from countries in the WHO African Region. In 2015, the baseline year of the Global technical strategy for malaria 2016–2030 (GTS), there were an estimated 230 million malaria cases.

• The WHO African Region, with an estimated 234 million cases in 2021, accounted for about 95% of global cases.

• Twenty-nine countries accounted for 96% of malaria cases globally, and four countries –Nigeria (27%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12%), Uganda (5%) and Mozambique (4%) – accounted for almost half of all cases globally.

DEATHS

• In 2020, malaria deaths increased by 10% compared with 2019, to an estimated 625 000. Estimated deaths declined slightly in 2021 to 619 000.

• The percentage of total malaria deaths in children aged under 5 years reduced from 87% in 2000 to 76% in 2015. Since then, there has been no change.

PREGNANCY

• In 2021, in 38 moderate and high transmission countries in the WHO African Region, there were an estimated 40 million pregnancies, of which 13.3 million (32%) were exposed to malaria infection during pregnancy.

• By WHO subregion, west Africa had the highest prevalence of exposure to malaria during pregnancy (40.7%), closely followed by central Africa (39.8%), while prevalence was 20% in east and southern Africa.

NETS

• Overall, access to and use of ITNs (insecticide-treated mosquito net) remains below the levels observed in 2017.

ACCESS

• Gaps in access to equitable and quality care remain an important challenge to malaria. In sub-Saharan Africa, care was not sought for about a third of children who had fever in the 2 weeks before the household was surveyed

• Although children in the poorest households were five times more likely to be infected with malaria, they were also two times less likely to access care.

World Malaria Report 2022 (WHO, 8.12.2022).

MAF SA is joining MAF programmes around the world to raise funds for widespread mosquito net distribution to isolated areas.

We’re appealing to our supporters to join us in this endeavour. Would you consider donating to the cause?

To gift to this initiative, please EFT us and reference your Name+’Malaria’. or Donate via our online PayFast portal, by clicking on the DONATE button:

DONATIONS EFT:

Mission Aviation Fellowship Standard Bank

Greenstone Branch

Account no.: 020044615

Branch code: 016342

Swift code: SBZAZAJJ