The
rains have been expected in Niamey, the capital of Niger, for
several weeks now. Ominous clouds aggregate in the early evenings
but are nothing more than an empty threat for the time being.
However, the rains, when they do come, herald the arrival of
opposing fates. Farmers eagerly anticipate the start of the
growing season and the chance to replenish their granary stores.
But the rains also signal the arrival of the number one killer
of children under five in Niger. They create optimum breeding
grounds for mosquitoes which bring with them malaria.
A national distribution of more than two million mosquito nets
to all mothers with children under five took place in Niger
in December 2005 and March 2006.
But it is one thing to give a mother a mosquito net, it is another
to ensure that she and her children use it.
The Niamey branch of the Niger Red Cross trained 36 volunteers
to educate mothers about the causes of malaria, how to prevent
the disease and how to use the mosquito net properly.
From 24 May to 27 May 2006, these volunteers worked in the three
communes of Niamey covering 72 “quartiers” and villages.
Red Cross volunteer Moussa Maliki is responsible for Gandatché
and Deïzeïbon “quartiers” of Niamey Commune
I. We visited one group of houses where four families live together.
Four mothers, Oummou, Houssou, Halima and Biba live here with
their seven children under the age of five. They each received
an impregnated mosquito net during the distribution in December.
“The mosquito is the only agent that transmits malaria
by its bite. Using a mosquito net is the most effective means
of protecting yourself and your children from the bite of the
mosquito and therefore malaria. This is because mosquitoes are
most active at night when you are sleeping,” she explained.
In Combo and Corniche “quartiers” of Niamey Commune
I, Red Cross volunteer Zeïnabou Zakari gave a demonstration
of how to hang the mosquito net correctly.
“You must hang the net from its four corners, using string
or cord and you must tuck the net under the mattress to stop
the mosquitoes entering at night,” she explained.
Niamey Commune III covers the villages on the outskirts of Niamey
to the south of the Niger river. We met Red Cross volunteer
Maïmouna Yamboto at her home in Saga Gourma village.
She had already worked in her own community for the previous
two days to pass on the education message. We were now visiting
the neighbouring village of Timméré together.
Ibrahim Sambou, the head of the village, greeted us on arrival
and arranged a small gathering beneath the shade of trees. Five
mothers, Mariama, Zeïnabou, Fatouma Amadou, Fatouma Sambo
and Fatouma Yacouba, sat together with their children as Maïmouna
explained the causes of malaria and the importance of using
the mosquito net.
We accompanied Maïmouna home after the activities. She
has two children under the age of five, Maimon Bachir (2 years)
and Fourena (4 years). She did not need to be told the importance
of sleeping under the mosquito net with her children at night.
“I also volunteer in the hospital and have seen how malaria
can kill, I know how important it is to pass on this simple
message about mosquito nets,” she explained.
The Niamey branch of Niger Red Cross has set the example for
the seven other regional branches to follow. The Niger Red Cross,
supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies and the Canadian Red Cross, began a nationwide
education campaign of mothers on 29 May throughout the rest
of the Niger.
More than 3,000 volunteers are working in the villages and communities
of the interior to pass on the same education messages as Moussa,
Zeïnabou and Maïmouna.
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Red
Cross volunteer Moussa Maliki is responsible for Gandatché
and Deïzeïbon “quartiers” of Niamey
Commune I. He explains here how to use the mosquito net
correctly using the Fiche Volontaire. (p14106)
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Red
Cross volunteers including Maïmouna Yamboto (bottom
right), Hamsatou Mounkaïla (top left), Moussa Maliki
(top, second from right). (p14109)
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Red
Cross volunteer Maïmouna Yamboto demonstrates how
to hang the mosquito net correctly. (p14108)
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Red
Cross volunteer Ramatou Soumaïla explains how to
prevent Malaria to a family in CEG8 quartier, Niamey Commune
II. (p14107)
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