Malaria is the leading cause of death in Zambia

United Nations, New York, 20 February 2010: Malaria is a persistent and common threat in most of Zambia, killing over 50,000 people a year. And the disease hits the countrys children especially hard, 40 percent of deaths under five are due to malaria.

SOUNDBITE (Bemba) Ida Mwapwa, headwoman, Lubemba village:
When I suffered from malaria, I thought I would die. I felt very weak with pain in my joints. My body temperature rose very high. I was rushed to the hospital and treated. The thing about malaria is that it renders you useless

The effect on the economy is also devastating. Its estimated the loss of productivity due to illness can cost the country 100 million dollars a year and reduce personal income by roughly 18 percent .

SOUNDBITE (Bemba) Thomas Mwapwa, Headman, Lubemba village:
We had very serious problems with malaria until we received assistance from the Ministry of Health. They came and sprayed in all the homes and brought us mosquito nets. Now we enjoy good health free from malaria

Superstitions still abound about spraying huts and sleeping under bed nets fears such as suffocation or impotency in men, but the government of Zambia, with help from the World Bank, is educating Zambians about the disease and how to avoid it.

SOUNDBITE (English) Elisabeth Chisema Kawesha, Director, Zambia Malaria Control Program:
All intervention really goes down to the grass roots through the community so the community must at first accept the interventions otherwise the intervention will not be effective.

Getting families to use insecticide treated bed nets when they sleep is all important. Evidence shows that when bed nets are combined with regular spraying inside houses, the risk of malaria falls dramatically.

In rural areas, many people simply aren't aware of the threat from mosquito-borne malaria. Community health workers are educating villagers about the danger, and about the best ways to protect against it. The program focuses on children and pregnant women because low resistance puts them at especially high risk.

SOUNDBITE (Bemba) Rhoda Kapaipi, Community Health worker, Mumbwa District:
The level of knowledge is quite high in the area now since there is a great appreciation of what the campaign has achieved. The before and after picture is very vivid. There was so much suffering before the campaign

Speed is key in treating malaria. Those with the disease need treatment within 24 hours of getting symptoms. This means regular testing and immediate treatment.

When all these practices, from nets to medicines, are in place, the results are immediate. Cases of malaria in Zambia have been cut by some 30 percent and deaths by 35 to 40 percent.

Negative test results, like for this little boy, are fast becoming the norm.

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• Zambia
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