Rotary Bednets Make an Impact in Malawi
Posted by Nancy Shawver
on Apr 12, 2011
District 6040 Matching Grant to Malawi Reduces Malaria Cases by 65-70%
“[Rotarians in District 6040] should feel proud as punch. There are very few donations that make such a quick, dramatic difference in children's lives.”
So wrote Tom Vigliatone, Board member of the Malawi Childrens Village, who recently reported that our 2008-2009 District 6040 Matching Grant to supply 37 villages in Malawi with bednets and related services has reduced the incidence of malaria in those villages by 65-70%!
During the 2008-2009 Rotary year, 20 clubs and individual Rotarians contributed to a district matching grant to supply much-needed anti-malarial bed nets to more than 1,000 child-bearing age women and children in 37 villages in Malawi. Partnering with the Malawi Childrens Village, our northern Missouri Rotary clubs “adopted” specific villages and pledged funding through a District Matching Grant submitted to the Rotary Foundation.
The total costs for the project were $14,000 for two years of malaria prevention efforts. The cost included a new or replacement bednet for each participant at a cost of $7 each pro-rated over two years for each of the villages. Data for each village was reported on a monthly basis to Malawi Childrens Village by an assigned volunteer coordinator and educator. A Malawi Childrens Village staff member also reinforces interest in the malaria project through her visits to villages to hand out new nets. In addition, every six months she goes to all the villages and checks on the use of the nets in individual households.
Based on the village reports, the Malawi Childrens Village computes the case rate for each month. The reduction of 65-70% is consistent with results based on comparable experience in Tanzania.
Baseline data was collected before the initiation of the project and compared with the Malawi government's projections. The pre-project malaria case rate in the 37 villages for children under five without bednets ranged from 29% to 37%.
The remarkable results for case rates in these villages in 2009 are as follows:
Jan 13.7%
Feb 13.9%
Mar 12.1%
Apr 13.4%
May 11.1%
Jun 13.2%
Jul 11.6%
Aug 7.3%
Sep 11.0%
Oct 9.0%
Nov 10.8%
Dec 4.2%
Based on this data, the introduction of bednets, plus careful follow-up, has reduced the case rate by 65%-70%. That's a whole lot of good news! The project continues to be a success. Heartfelt thanks to all of the clubs, individual members and their families in District 6040 that contributed to this 2008-2009 District Matching Grant under the leadership of DG Elizabeth Usovicz, Grants Chair Jerry Venters and Plaza Rotarian Bill Schmidt:
St. Joseph Southside
Liberty
Eastern Independence
Kansas City Plaza
Lee’s Summit Sunrise
North Kansas City
Platte City
Blue Springs
Kansas City
Richmond
Huntsville
Cameron
Independence
KCI International
South Platte
“[Rotarians in District 6040] should feel proud as punch. There are very few donations that make such a quick, dramatic difference in children's lives.”
So wrote Tom Vigliatone, Board member of the Malawi Childrens Village, who recently reported that our 2008-2009 District 6040 Matching Grant to supply 37 villages in Malawi with bednets and related services has reduced the incidence of malaria in those villages by 65-70%!
During the 2008-2009 Rotary year, 20 clubs and individual Rotarians contributed to a district matching grant to supply much-needed anti-malarial bed nets to more than 1,000 child-bearing age women and children in 37 villages in Malawi. Partnering with the Malawi Childrens Village, our northern Missouri Rotary clubs “adopted” specific villages and pledged funding through a District Matching Grant submitted to the Rotary Foundation.
The total costs for the project were $14,000 for two years of malaria prevention efforts. The cost included a new or replacement bednet for each participant at a cost of $7 each pro-rated over two years for each of the villages. Data for each village was reported on a monthly basis to Malawi Childrens Village by an assigned volunteer coordinator and educator. A Malawi Childrens Village staff member also reinforces interest in the malaria project through her visits to villages to hand out new nets. In addition, every six months she goes to all the villages and checks on the use of the nets in individual households.
Based on the village reports, the Malawi Childrens Village computes the case rate for each month. The reduction of 65-70% is consistent with results based on comparable experience in Tanzania.
Baseline data was collected before the initiation of the project and compared with the Malawi government's projections. The pre-project malaria case rate in the 37 villages for children under five without bednets ranged from 29% to 37%.
The remarkable results for case rates in these villages in 2009 are as follows:
Jan 13.7%
Feb 13.9%
Mar 12.1%
Apr 13.4%
May 11.1%
Jun 13.2%
Jul 11.6%
Aug 7.3%
Sep 11.0%
Oct 9.0%
Nov 10.8%
Dec 4.2%
Based on this data, the introduction of bednets, plus careful follow-up, has reduced the case rate by 65%-70%. That's a whole lot of good news! The project continues to be a success. Heartfelt thanks to all of the clubs, individual members and their families in District 6040 that contributed to this 2008-2009 District Matching Grant under the leadership of DG Elizabeth Usovicz, Grants Chair Jerry Venters and Plaza Rotarian Bill Schmidt:
St. Joseph Southside
Liberty
Eastern Independence
Kansas City Plaza
Lee’s Summit Sunrise
North Kansas City
Platte City
Blue Springs
Kansas City
Richmond
Huntsville
Cameron
Independence
KCI International
South Platte