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Preventing and Treating
Malaria
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Every year between 300 to 500 million people become sick with malaria and more than one million of these people die. Of these deaths, over 85% occur in sub-Saharan Africa, primarily among children under the age of five. However, despite the deadliness of the disease, malaria is treatable and preventable given the proper knowledge and resources to combat it.
Through Tostan's program, communities become aware of the threat of malaria. In the Community Empowerment Program (CEP) modules on health and hygiene, participants learn about the ways malaria is transmitted and strategies to avoid attracting the mosquitoes that carry the disease as well as proper treatment methods.
With this new knowledge, program participants organize with their Community Management Committees (CMCs) to take the following actions:
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removing standing water that attracts mosquitoes;
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covering wells;
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buying mosquito nets and medication for the treatment of malaria;
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learning how to make and sell locally-produced antimosquito lotion (
above
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requesting further supplies and resources from the government and other organizations.
These preventive actions will reduce the prevalence of malaria infection in the present, and more importantly, create lasting changes in how communities combat the disease in the long term.
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