Malaria prevention in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Dr Ibrahim Bello, University of Liverpool Online MPH student

MPH PHOTO JOURNAL“Shaping Healthy Communities”

Learn more about our online degrees at http://www.university-liverpool-online.com/

I was in the middle of one of the modules of the online MPH programme “sociology of health” and I decided to apply Foucauldian gaze by taking malaria prevention from the busy GP clinic to the heart of the Ife community where I live and work.

Effective use of the media through several live radio programmes involving questions and answers on signs, symptoms and complication of malaria

Live radio programmes like this help enable me to touch many houses that I cannot reach and serve as effective weapon in malaria prevention.

Outreach

Reaching the market women and traders in their place of work help bridge the socio-economic class difference and improve the trust between the health worker and the lay public.

Market sensitisation is good at mobilising members of the public for education and demonstration of various malaria preventive tools.

Delivering key note address on world malaria day 2012

I used this rare opportunity to teach the people symptoms, signs and treatment of malaria.

Benefits of malaria prevention were emphasised by explaining available tools like good drainage and insecticide treated Mosquito nets.

Long lasting insecticide treated bed nets, obtained through collaboration with the local wing of WHO and Pharmaceutical companies, were freely distributed to poor indigenes, especially children and mothers of under-fives.

Screening

Rapid diagnostic test kits for malaria are being used here for mass screening of children during World Malaria Day.

Free drugs obtained through collaborating drug companies were made freely available to children of poor parents that tested positive for malaria.

Success story

What we were able to achieve was beyond Imagination.

The 2013 World Malaria Day celebration attracted a mammoth crowd as you can see in the background.

The participants were being screened for Malaria.

Mobilising Nigerian youth corpers for malaria prevention

The programme was held at the ancient palace of OONI of Ife in Nigeria.

It’s a way of bringing the advocacy programme to the door step of the policy makers and also involving the youths.

Involving policy makers in advocacy programme

I’m pictured here with the state officials, administrators and head of institution.

Healthy health policy is vital to any successful malaria eradication programme.

Malaria car

This serves as an additional tool to mobilise the local people for health talks.

Ancient people of south-west Nigeria are used to town-criers as a medium of communication to their people.

This car was fitted with a public address system and malaria posters help in the dissemination of our message.