Groups around the world take ownership on World Malaria Day 2009

Malaria Competence:  Where are we now? 

Today, there are 109 malarious countries in 4 regions. There are at least 300 million acute cases of malaria each year globally, resulting in more than a million deaths. Malaria is Africa's leading cause of under-five mortality (20%) and constitutes 10% of the continent's overall disease burden.[1]

Nevertheless, dying of malaria is not a fatality. Around the world communities mobilize their own resources to roll back malaria.

Kokoko Gapoti, a great and respected sorcerer in a village in Togo explains: “In the past, many people were sick because of malaria. Women did not go to antenatal visits. There were many miscarriages and also many deaths among young children. Since we started to discuss this together, there have been no more miscarriages.”

How can all of us strive to eradicate malaria and to become malaria competent? We invite you to do your malaria competence self-assessment  with your family, your colleagues, your village or community on World Malaria Day, 25 April 2009. This simple tool will help you to discuss how competent you are as a community towards malaria and to plan together for action. 

Download the self-assessment framework
Read more about how to do your self-assessment

In Sohm (the Gambia), an average of five young children died from malaria every year. “Since we have been helped by the self-assessment, no child has died,” stated Mrs Sera Badjie.

Aziawo Kokou, district coach of Zio South (Togo), can’t stop singing the praises of the Club for Mothers in Bolougan. “At the beginning the mothers didn’t have the money to buy bednets, so they started to cultivate maize and manioc in a community field, and eventually they bought bednets with the income for the sales of these products.

If you live in a country where there is no malaria, you can still do the self-assessment, because:

-   Members of your community might travel to a country where there is malaria
-   There might be dengue infected mosquitoes