Thato Chwaane
23 April 2008
Kachikau — Residents of Kachikau village in the Chobe district on Monday received free treated bed nets as a preventative measure in the fight against malaria.
This initiative is part of an awareness project by the Roll Back Malaria Zambezi Expedition.
The expedition crew leader, Helge Bendl said the unique project runs from the source of the Zambezi River.
Members of the crew travel in four small boats and have so far covered Zambia, Angola, Namibia and Botswana. The other remaining countries to be covered are Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Bendl said they will cover over 2,500km. He said the group comprises of a medical team and journalists who go into villages to distribute these bed nets.
Bendl has partnered with Andy Leemann, a mechanic and boat expert and the project is sponsored by "Roll Back Malaria".
Part of this initiative is to educate communities along the Zambezi. Bendl said they are looking at the challenges the communities face and the solutions that can benefit them."There is a need for unified strategies," he said of the six SADC countries involved in the expedition.
He said it is important for people to sleep under insecticide treated bed nets, to have indoor residual spraying of their houses and use proper new treatment.
"Malaria is controllable," said the German journalist.
He said with Botswana's good infrastructure and resources, it is possible to eliminate malaria. However, he said that this cannot be done by one country. He said that malaria does not know any borders. Bendl said the Zambezi remains the lifeline for many people.
Bendl said that every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria in Africa 'even though it is easy to save lives with a net'.
He said he has encountered malaria cases in different African countries he has worked in.
"With three drugs, one can be cured," he said.
The expedition is expected to take two months. The occasion in Kachikau comes a few days before the worldwide Malaria Day which will be commemorated on April 25. Another occasion was held in Kasane on Tuesday.
Asked whether the expedition will be an annual event, Bendl said it has taken two years to organise the event and it is time for governments to take over.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
