Providing anti-malarial medicine for children under 5

Malaria kills an estimated 1 million people worldwide every year. Ninety per cent of them live in sub-Saharan Africa, and a great majority are children. In the countries that CPAR works in, it is not unusual for one quarter of all hospital/health centre visits to be malaria cases. People suffering from malaria frequently make up one quarter of all outpatient visitors, and well over a one quarter of hospital admissions are children, women and men suffering from severe forms of the disease. This reality drains energy, money, equipment and innocent lives from communities and health systems all over sub-Saharan Africa. 

Malaria is a key cause of still births in Pader District, Northern Uganda where CPAR works. In 2006, over 2,111 official cases of malaria were reported in pregnant women in Pader District health centres, 478 (23%) of which resulted in a loss of babies to stillbirths, determined by medical staff to be as a result of their illness. The illness is also a major cause of anemia in children and pregnant women, low birth weight, premature birth and infant mortality. 

This doesn't have to be a reality. This is why CPAR is working hard to supply effective and low-cost treatment and prevention tools (such as long-lasting insecticide treated nets) to pregnant women and under 5 year-old children (the most vulnerable to infection) throughout Pader District. 

In late-2007 and late 2008, heavy flooding in Northern Uganda displaced thousands of people, destroying farmland as well as livelihoods. The flooding also brought outbreaks of disease including cholera, diarrhoea and malaria.  

In response to this need, CPAR is implementing emergency operations to support the post-flood restoration of essential health, water and sanitation and livelihood services for populations in transition (returning internally displaced people) in Pader District, Northern Uganda. 

CPAR is addressing the needs of just over 4000 extremely vulnerable individuals by distributing essential drugs, including anti-malarial medications (such as Coartem), and working with health centres on prevention campaigns and sustainable restocking strategies. 

Households will also be provided with long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets to protect the most vulnerable (children under 5 and pregnant women) from preventable cases of malaria. Malaria is preventable – we can make help change lives.

Be a face of Giving. Help support the health and wellness of children under 5 and their mothers.