Our support of BioVision's malaria projects with their integrated approach to malaria prevention has saved many thousand lives in Kenya, where malaria prevalence reduction in Nyabondo now stands at 66% and in the newer Malindi project at over 50% and rising. Thousands of children will now live to see their 5th birthday - who only 3 years ago at the start of these programs - did not stand a chance. FAWCO's partnership with BioVision which has been enthusiastically supported by our members has resulted in the success of these two pilot projects.
FAWCO has continued to support the purchase and distribution of insecticide treated bed nets and education for the Kenyan projects which use a combination of various environmentally friendly methods for reducing the number of mosquitoes through water management and the elimination and treatment of breeding areas with the natural pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti). With this integrated approach there has been a reduction in mosquitoes of over 90% in Nyabondo and the trend in Malindi is similar. The distribution of insecticide treated bed nets and the education of the local population are an integral part of the projects adding to their success and will help to secure sustainable malaria control into the future. The pilot projects in Kenya will continue to be supported and monitored by BioVision and still need our support, but now established, the costs will decrease continually so that in the long term they can be covered by local income generation activities.
The lessons leaned in the two Kenyan projects will now be applied to BioVision's newest malaria eradication project in the Gurage/Tolay area of Ethiopia where there is a population of about 9,000 people. The area is a high malaria risk zone and the goal of the control project is to improve the human health situation and contribute to the economic growth of the rural poor communities. Since this project is in need of funding, we recently nominated BioVision for the 2007 Hilton Humanitarian Award. In the nomination we wrote "FAWCO is pleased to attest to BioVision's integrity and commitment in addressing the world's problems in a sustainable manner; promoting integrated and ecological thinking and action; while fostering the development, dissemination and application of ecologically sound methods derived from a solid science foundation." Let us all keep our fingers crossed that the Hilton Foundation will be as impressed with BioVision as we are.
Malaria Eradication through Education
At the heart of all BioVision's help through self help projects is education. The lack of practical information in the fields of agriculture and health is a principle factor restraining progress in Kenya and many other African countries. The Organic Farmer (TOF) is a free newspaper that reaches over 90,000 people every month and has become an important source of information for many African families in rural areas. This year TOF will start to print supplements with special issues on subjects such as healthcare. The first supplement will be on malaria and FAWCO is honored to be able to sponsor this important first edition with 4 pages on malaria prevention. Extra copies will be printed specifically for schools and the contents will be spread further through Kenyan radio stations and other media channels.
*** Note on political situation in Kenya
The current political crisis situation in Kenya has had no adverse effect on our sponsored malaria projects. We are in close contact with BioVision about the situation in Malindi and Nyabondo. These two areas have not been touched by the violence and remain outside the hotspots. Unfortunately the crisis impacts many innocent people across the country and as always women and children are the most vulnerable. BioVision is monitoring the situation closely with their partners in Kenya. Updates will be posted on the NGO/Malaria section of the FAWCO website.