Bed net purchase & distribution
Malaria prevention – no bed left behind
Towards the end of 2009 CHCD embarked on a ground breaking new bed nets project. This project will eventually require around 30,000 bed nets and its intention is to put a net over every bed in every village that has a Village Health Worker (VHW) supported by MEA.
The many problems associated with Malaria are well known and understood however, one major challenge with a low profile is access to medicines for treatment. Therefore CHCD and MEA have decided to maximise the positive effects of treated bed nets by going for 100% coverage in all our villages, or as I like to call it ‘no bed left behind…’
The project requires an intensive hands on approach. Every village is required to collaborate in a comprehensive survey to establish the nets needed. They must also assist in the installation of each net and comply with follow up audits by MEA health workers to ensure compliance.
In the absence of medicines to treat those infected, prevention is far better than slipping painfully into a coma and dying.
The initial pilot began in September 2009 and will be completed by the end of January 2010. This involves 8 communities and 1,600 bed nets. Thereafter another 10 villages are scheduled for February to June 2010 and it remains only a matter of funding (this will incur further funding of $200,000) to complete the task in the remaining 180 villages.
Just $9 will get a net installed over a bed in Africa and help save the lives of young and old alike.
Build a village Health Post
A project for Gap Years
It’s true that a vast number of our 250 VHWs work from home, a situation that is unsatisfactory. It is therefore our aim to build a health post in every village where we have a VHW.
This project started off in Mwambani where two volunteers from the UK raised around £3,000.00, came to Africa and built a health post. Moving forward with the project we have now decided to build a more economical test structure and see at what cost we could create a ‘mid tech’ single room village health post appropriate for the needs of all VHWs.
This structure will have a solid floor, mud walls and a tin roof and be based of techniques and technologies used in building your average family dwelling. This will reduce the need for expensive building materials and complicated building skills making the projects achievable and affordable, approximately £1,500.00, an attainable fund raising challenge to students in mid recession Europe.
