World Malaria Day 2012

Music boomed from the Humjibre Community Center and warm light spilled out of open windows and doors beckoning people to come and join the festivities. The day is World Malaria Day and in Ghana, Malaria is one of, if not the greatest health risk accounting for nearly a third of all deaths in children under 5. The most dangerous malaria parasite, of the 4 that infect humans, is by far most prevalent in Ghana where it accounts for up to 98% of infections.

These facts combined make this an extremely important day to spread the word in Humjibre as well as in the neighboring communities of Soroano and Kojina about preventative measures that each individual can take to protect themselves and their loved ones. Slowly people began to trickle into the Community Center and the seats began to fill with young mothers carrying babes on their backs, old women with lined faces hunched over from years of hard living, and the excitable, squirming bodies of young boys and girls. The music ebbed and members of GHEI's health team, Aggie and Mensah, stood before their community as role models and leaders explaining the causes and effects of Malaria. Nurses from the local clinics were invited to give animated talks about detecting early symptoms and the audience was encouraged to participate in a bednet demonstration as well as a question and answer session. The evening drew to a close with the showing of a short film, featuring a number of GHEI's health staff, that illustrated the symptoms and appropriate treatment of Malaria, and the importance of a proactive approach.

Malaria prevention is a main focus of GHEI’s Health Program and they have tackled this pervasive problem since 2006 by distributing insecticide treated bednet throughout Humjibre and neighboring communities. The beauty of working at the grassroots level is the ability to adapt and hone a program to the unique needs and demands of each community. Knowledge is power and the GHEI health team found that just providing bednets was not enough. Intervention was needed to educate each household on bednet usage with culturally appropriate material and Community Health Workers were trained to be involved in every aspect from planning, distribution, promotion and community support. The combination of these outreach programs and the empowerment of community members were a necessary step to successfully integrate bednet usage into the daily Ghanaian life.

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