Hajjah

Al-Bath Village - A Model for the Success of the Emergency Response Plan to Treat and Prevent the Spread of Malaria

Adel Al-Baoua - Sunday, 04 February, 2024

Upon reviewing the daily activity reports of the facilities supervised by the National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response in Keeda'na District, the foundation's coordinator noticed an increase in the number of malaria cases visiting the Al-Gharbi Health Unit on December 3, 2023, which reached 13 cases, all of which were from the residents of "Al-Bath" village, a small village west of Keeda'na District with a population of 740 people.

According to medical standards, this is considered an abnormal indicator in the health situation, and the area may be a hotbed for the spread of malaria, which requires rapid intervention to control the situation before the problem worsens.

The coordinator informed the epidemic surveillance officer in the directorate, and an emergency plan was prepared in coordination with the Health and Population Office. Within 24 hours of the report, two medical and awareness teams from the Al-Gharbi Health Unit moved to the village with diagnostic supplies, medicines, and community awareness materials such as brochures and posters on malaria prevention.

Hajj Yahya Hassan Al-Masawi, one of the village elders, said, "There are mosquitoes in every house. We don't have mosquito nets or treatments."

On December 4, 2023, the two teams arrived in the village after coordinating with community leaders to inform the residents of the presence of two medical and awareness teams to treat malaria cases. They invited everyone to come with their families to be examined by the medical team and receive treatment free of charge and attend awareness sessions.

Funded by the Yemen Humanitarian Fund, the National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response supports 6 health facilities in Keeda'na District to provide free health services and medicines to patients, including the Al-Gharbi Health Unit. It also implements community awareness activities on ways to prevent diseases.

The medical team started the initial examination of the residents, while the awareness team was distributed to the areas of the village to raise awareness of the areas and risks of mosquito breeding and ways to combat it. They started to get rid of the foci and places where Anopheles mosquito larvae breed, and get rid of stagnant water exposed in plastic pots and others. The Public Health and Population Office team also distributed mosquito nets to all villagers.

The medical team examined 136 cases. Based on the symptoms, there were 84 suspected cases of malaria, which were tested using malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) that showed 55 cases infected with the malaria parasite, including 41 cases for children, 18 of whom were boys and 23 were girls.

Dr. Nabila Suhail, Director of Public Health and Population in the directorate, confirms what Hajj Yahya Al-Masawi said, "The presence of many ponds and swamps of stagnant water has led to the creation of conditions for the growth and reproduction of Anopheles mosquitoes that transmit the malaria parasite. Mosquitoes breed wherever there is stagnant water, be it ponds, car tires, or empty cans. Also, uncovered water storage containers are present in almost every home and are suitable foci for mosquito larvae to grow. This is why we see this number of cases among the population."

A month after the visit of the treatment and awareness teams, the health situation in the village improved, and the number of cases registered in December decreased to 12 cases compared to 68 cases in November 2023.

Many factors contributed to the success of the emergency response plan to treat and prevent the spread of malaria in Al-Bath village, including the integration of roles between the health office, the foundation, and the community, the rapid response to control the situation, and the community's acceptance of awareness programs. However, the problem of the spread of malaria has not been solved, and the disease may spread again in the same village or another. The efforts of the concerned authorities, civil society organizations, and the people of the region must be combined to fill the mosquito breeding grounds, eliminate larvae, and strengthen awareness programs related to malaria control.