Battling Malaria, Angola's Number One Killer

"For me, malaria is the biggest health problem in Angola," says Juan Sheenan, Catholic Relief Services' former country representative there.

"There is so much malaria in Angola that there can be a fatalistic attitude toward it. This can even extend to doctors who, when they see someone with chills, fever and other symptoms that mimic malaria, they just assume that the patient has malaria and prescribe the drugs. The problem is that overuse of these drugs can lead to the development of resistant strains. But it is kind of entrenched in the culture that 'You will get malaria, there is nothing you can do about it.' "

One CRS program is trying to show Angolans that they can do something about it. The goal is to distribute 5,000 mosquito nets that have been treated with insecticide. When used correctly, these nets are a proven method for drastically reducing the incidence of malaria, so recipients of the nets will also be educated on their proper use.

In addition, antimalaria drugs will be distributed to children under the age of 5 and pregnant women in a rural area of the Benguela province in southwestern Angola. An education campaign will train health workers and technicians on how to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria throughout the province.

Background

Malaria kills more than 1 million people every year, 80 percent of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Every 30 seconds, an African child dies from the disease.