Malaria plays a
significant role in life here in Togo, especially during rainy season when
mosquitoes have the easiest time locating places to reproduce. How serious? Malaria is the most frequently recorded
cause of death in Togo. Really? Yes,
in 2010 malaria was the cause of recorded death for about 42% (1,113) of
children under 5, 12% (380) of individuals 5 and older, and 7% (1,507) of
pregnant women*.
One of the projects I have been working on involves the
connection between stagnant water and malaria. As many of us know, malaria is
carried by mosquitoes. The more exposed one is to mosquitoes and the more vulnerable
one is to mosquitoes’ bites, the more prone one is to the contraction of
malaria. One method of controlling the presence of mosquitoes is through
limiting the reproduction of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in stagnant
water, which is where mosquito larvae develop. Therefore, if one minimizes the
presence of stagnant water, one limits the opportunities for mosquito
reproduction and development, lessens the concentration of mosquitoes in one’s
area, and reduces one’s risk of contracting malaria.
Water – mosquito
babies – mosquitoes – mosquito bites – malaria
No water – 0 mosquito
babies – 0 mosquitoes – 0 mosquito bites – 0 malaria
When my work partners first introduced this project to me,
they took me on a walk through the village demonstrating the presence of
stagnant water. Their proposal was to construct 10 showers throughout the
village. These showers would demonstrate a proper drainage system. The showers
would lessen the amount of stagnant water, and show community members how to
replicate this system within their own living space.
When we conducted this initial visit, I captured some photos
of local showers and the poor drainage of water. These pictures were taken
during dry season:
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| Images of showers in the community |
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| Images showing the current prevalence of stagnant water and blocked drainage areas |
Concrete in Togo is expensive. Proper drainage systems
demand concrete, therefore making showers with proper drainage more expensive.
However, my work partners and I hope to build an understanding of the
importance of proper drainage construction, demonstrate a cost-effective method
of construction, and inspire community members to build low-cost showers of
their own.
The foundation of this project is not the construction of
showers, but the educational sessions that my work partners and I present to
community members. These educational sessions are attended by prominent
community members, and are conducted to establish a common understanding of the
connection between stagnant water and malaria, and the importance of lessening
the presence of stagnant water for the community’s health.
We held our first educational session last week. The session
covered general malaria knowledge, and a review of how to wash a mosquito net.
We’re building from malaria, to malaria prevention, to stagnant water
prevention, to overall community sanitation.
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| Local community health workers demonstrating how to wash a mosquito net |
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| Village locals at the educational session |
Hopefully over the next few months I’ll be able to show you
some more progress on the community’s project towards sanitation and malaria
prevention!
*These numbers were taken from a 2010
annual report conducted by a division within the Togolese government, “National
Program of the Fight against Malaria” (Programme National de Lutte contra le
Paludisme, PNLP).
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