October 26, 2020 (232News)
FREETOWN – Focus 1000 is a local non-Governmental Organization whose main aim is to compliment the effort of the Central Government of Sierra Leone, to fight against maternal and child mortality in Sierra Leone, had on Thursday the 22nd of October 2020 engaged in series of trainings on malaria across the country.
Members of the Kombra Network Port Loko District, a sub network under focus 1000 were fortunate to benefit from the training.
It was sponsored by Christian Relief Services (CRS).
Hassan Belal Conteh is the malaria District Focal person at the Port Loko District Health Management Team (DHMT) and also one of the facilitators in the training of champions in malaria.
He explained to participants among many things that malaria is a killer disease and that pregnant women, children under-fives and the old people are the vulnerable groups.
He added that malaria can cause abortion, still birth, death of infants and mothers; he continued that we can prevent malaria through the following ways:
-proper use of bed nets
-cleaning of the environment
-pouring bunt oil in to open pits
-Early treatment seeking behavior
-patients who go to the hospital for treatment should complete their doses
Responding to an interview the Malaria District focal person, Hassan Belal Conteh said that” in a survey conducted worldwide in 2018,we have two hundred and twenty-eight million cases of malaria, in 2017,two million three hundred and thirty-one deaths.
In 2018, 93% of malaria cases are from Africa,94% of death cases are from Africa,67% of death cases are under-fives (source WHO)
Sierra Leone is a highest burden country ie throughout the year we have cases of malaria. Four out of ten hospital consultations is caused by malaria, Sierra Leone is 40% malaria prevalence.
Port Loko is 59% prevalence of malaria six out of ten have malaria according to MIS (Malaria Indicator Survey).”
Interviewer: what are you doing as a District to cut down the 59% in the District?
Hassan Belal Conteh: ”As a DHMT(District Health Management Team) we are providing bed nets in two ways one is during National Campaigns after every three years, during routine EPI infants (Expanded program on immunization)and during ANC(Ante-Natal Care Of Pregnant women).
-we give out IPT (intermittent preventative treatment)for pregnant women and infants,(IPTi and IPTp)
-Training and supervisions for Health workers on malaria interventions.
-provides monitoring and coaching of Health staff.”
Interviewer: Are there challenges?
Hassan Belal Conteh: yes there are challenges.
Interviewer: what are the challenges?
Hassan Belal Conteh:”The challenges are that: The miss use of bed nets,
The species of mosquitoes in the District (Anopheles mosquito) and the type of plasmodium parasite in the District,
The weather condition favorable for the existence of the Anopheles .All these pose a threat in the fight against malaria.”
Until we own the fight against malaria as we have as a nation owned the fight against The Ebola epidemic, malaria still remains a threat to our precious babies and mothers.
