by Paula Daeppen, AWC Zürich, FAWCO Networks Coordinator 2005-2007
In 2005 FAWCO made a commitment to malaria prevention. Since FAWCO’s main focus was the purchase of insecticide treated bed nets (ITNs and LLITNs), the initiative was called “Networks” and between 2006 and 2009 a total of $165,885 was raised by our member organizations with another $100,000 coming from the Hilton Foundation. Besides the purchase of bed nets, an equally valuable contribution to malaria education and awareness was also made.
After an intensive search and vetting process, FAWCO found the ideal partner for its malaria initiative in Biovision, a Swiss foundation for ecological development. We became partners with Biovision in support of their integrated vector management (IVM) approach to malaria prevention, in pilot projects in Nyabondo and Malindi, Kenya, that were started in 2006. In Malindi, not only did the vector management control work very successfully, but it has also proven to be very sustainable. The Nyabondo project was less sustainable, but resulted in important findings that are being used in newly developed malaria prevention programs.
IVM is a holistic, toolbox approach for the control of disease transmitting “vectors”, in this case, the malaria transmitting “mosquito”. In the Biovision projects it included a series of coordinated measures to control the mosquitoes; the training of local “malaria scouts” to work in and educate the community, the distribution and use-control of treated bed nets, the elimination of standing water breeding sites or their treatment with Bti (a naturally occurring bacterium as a biological control agent) or other natural methods to control the mosquito larvae, as well as monitoring the number of mosquitoes.
In Malindi, at the start of the pilot project, over 60% of the people in the area were infected with malaria. Today that number is between 3 and 5 percent and the number of disease-transmitting mosquitoes has dropped by 75%. There has also been an added benefit as the IVM method has had a positive effect against viral diseases in the project area, including dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya and elephantiasis.
The goal of all of Biovision’s projects is always help for self-help and this success has allowed the Malindi pilot project to continue on its own without the financial support of Biovision. The local population now knows that they possess the tools they need to control the vectors and the local PUMMA Mosquito Scouts remain active.
The purpose of pilot projects is to evaluate successes as well as failures and take advantage of lessons learned. The projects demonstrated that the environmentally friendly Bti works best in high density population areas and with a manageable number of breeding sites, as was the case in Malindi. In rural Nyabondo, at Lake Victoria, larvae control was less effective and there is still an incidence of malaria at 32.4%. There the brick making industry leaves many sites for standing water to collect, creating perfect breeding grounds for the malaria larvae as well as too many sites for successful application of Bti. Treated bed nets and the screening of houses with fine wire mesh to reduce mosquito entry and consequently reducing vector-host contact, play a more important role here, but it is not enough.
The need for supplementary interventions and strategies, which when integrated with treated bed nets would further reduce malaria infections is evident. Biovision has not given up the fight! Malaria and other insect-borne diseases remain as serious health problems in many parts of the world and the work of Biovision continues.
FAWCO can be proud of its past commitment to malaria prevention and we can all look forward to new progress in eliminating this disease.