Real Life Stories
BotswanaRra Poroto
Local leader Rra Poroto is at the forefront of the fight to end malaria deaths in the Okavango Region of Botswana, a country that has cut malaria cases by more than half in the last decade. He’s been championing malaria education campaigns as part of a malaria prevention programme that we helped fund last year, thanks to your support.
We were most pleased about the free net distribution and education project and took seriously our role to encourage people to use the nets for malaria prevention.
The net distribution and education project was a real success with the number of homes owning nets in the region rising from 12% to 98% (2007-2010). This success led the government to adopt this approach throughout the country and, by the end of 2010, had resulted in the distribution of an additional 150,000 nets to communities in Northern Botswana.
The project involved door-to-door visits to distribute and hang mosquito nets in local homes. This was supported by community meetings, hosted by local leaders like Rra Poroto, to discuss malaria prevention. Speaking about the positive impact of this project, Rra Poroto said “Before the mosquito net distribution, many people did not know so much about malaria and mosquitoes were free to roam. As leaders, we were most pleased about the free net distribution and education project and took seriously our role to encourage people to use the nets for malaria prevention. Now it is very different, many more people now spend their nights under these nets which is especially important for young children who are the most vulnerable to malaria.”
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Thomas Sandow, Ghanaian Malaria Volunteer, 28
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