Rwanda child survival appeal
Please help Concern spread knowledge about malaria and prevent children in Rwanda from dying needlessly.
For those who have been affected by malaria, 2007 will not be a year to forget. This year half a billion people will have been affected by the disease – and at least one million have died.
In Rwanda, the disease is an epidemic, accounting for one in three of all childhood deaths. The little help available for parents involves walking miles in searing heat to reach overcrowded health centres. Thousands of children die from diseases that, with education, could have been treated.
| A Picture of Health |
|---|
|
In 2001, Concern introduced an initiative in the Gisagara district of Rwanda, with the aim of
reducing these childhood deaths, called the
Child Survival Programme.
Pass it on
The secret of beating malaria is to pass it on. The Child Survival Programme works to fight malaria by spreading knowledge and resources. As part of the initiative, locally elected representatives – community health workers – learn how to spot the symptoms of malaria and then share this knowledge with parents and the wider community. Knowledge is also spread via a booklet called “Key Messages on Malaria”, which is passed from neighbour to neighbour until whole communities know about the symptoms and how to respond to them.
Since 2001, the Child Survival Programme has been a great success, particularly in the area of prevention and treatment of malaria. In 2004 and 2005, Concern treated 111,676 cases of malaria and in 2006, 58% of all children under the age of two with fever were treated within 24 hours.
Concern is now ready to implement this innovative programme in other districts.
How can you help?Concern needs €440,415 to implement the malaria programme in six of Rwanda’s poorest districts. €500 will provide drugs for community health workers to treat 406 Rwandan children with diseases like malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia. €1,000 will provide training materials like Key Messages on Malaria for 137 community health workers. €2,000 will provide training and support for 53 community health workers.
|
