Tag: Malaria

World Malaria Day

Every two minutes a child dies of Malaria – according to the World Health Organisation.

25th April is World Malaria Day

You might know that Malaria is a complex parasitic disease that is confined mostly to tropical areas and is transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. There are an estimated 250 million clinical cases of malaria worldwide, causing nearly a million deaths yearly, mostly of children under 5 years of age and generally in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria-endemic countries are faced with the high cost of prevention and treatment of the disease.

To reduce reliance on potentially harmful compounds currently used for malaria vector control, support is needed for integrated and multi-partnered strategies of vector control and for the continued development of new technologies and strategies as sustainable alternative methods.

Sibo teamed up with the University of Pretoria Centre for Sustainable Malaria Control and the National Department of Health. A story, in our usual Sibo style (wacky rhyme), was written with the objective of trying to help change life-style as far as dealing with mozzies is concerned. 

This book not only explains what the symptoms are but also where to go for treatment and how to avoid getting malaria in the first place.  Students from the University of Pretoria are planning to use the book as part of their projects to see whether it does make any impact or not. By empowering children (and potentially their parents too) through education on how to avoid the hazards of malaria, it is hoped that lifestyle-altering patterns will emerge which could help to lessen the burden of malaria in malaria-endemic areas and potentially assist in the fight towards the elimination of the disease.

This project is being rolled out in the Vhembe district, Limpopo Province. Certain schools have been selected and permission to work within these schools was obtained from the Department of Education and also from the local Chief and the headmen of the villages where the selected schools are situated.

Sibo Fights Malaria, published by Lets Look Publishers, is the 12th title in the Sibo Series.

This title in the Sibo Series was launched at the University of Pretoria on the 24th April 2014 – the day before World Malaria Day.

Join our Facebook event and read Sibo Fights Malaria free on 25th April.

Did you know that mosquitoes breed in stagnant water?

More holidays…

Hope you are all enjoying being back at school again. If not – don’t worry – there is another long weekend coming up.

Around about this time of April there are some important days to talk about.

22nd of April is International Mother Earth Day. Actually we should make every single day Earth day because we only have on earth (duh!) and it’s not actually in very good shape anymore. Remember we can all do our bit by practising the 3R’s – reducing, reusing and recycling. Also by saving water where ever we can. Don’t forget to save electricity too – that also helps. Switch off those lights when you are not in a room and unplug your chargers when you have finished charging your appliances. How about planting a tree… a nice fruit tree. Just think how great it would be to pluck your own lemons, oranges, mulberries or whatever type of tree you want to grow (just check that it is going to grow well in your area first though).

25th April is World Malaria Day.  You might think that is a funny day to have because malaria is not an issue on the East Rand, but there are many areas in the world where it is a huge problem.  How scary is this… according to UNICEF: “Malaria kills one child every 30 seconds, about 3000 children every day. Over one million people die from malaria each year, mostly children under five years of age, with 90 per cent of malaria cases occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Malaria really is an extremely nasty disease. It’s carried by a certain type of mozzie called the Anopheles mosquito and it feels a bit like getting flu – you have a fever, headache, get the chills, feel like throwing up and have achy bones. If you have been in a malaria area and experience any of these symptoms – you should go to the doctor or the clinic immediately.

Of course we all get bitten by normal mozzies every now and then. They are not dangerous but they are incredibly irritating and itchy. Here are a few innovative ways of dealing with those little bumps… tee tree oil, a dab of vanilla essence, Vicks, calamine lotion, spit, clear nail polish, aloe vera and some people swear that rubbing a peeled clove of garlic on the bite works well too!

If you want to know more about malaria – you can read my book “Sibo Fights Malaria” freely on http://www.sibo.co.za . Just click on the cover.

Enjoy the long weekend – stay safe!

Sibo

 

Make Plans Please

sibo-and-zona-2

We are going away for the festive season – to Flatwater Stills – so its yukky old malaria pills time again. Mum insists we take them – and we do – because malaria is very nasty and we don’t want to get it. Luckily there are only a few places in South Africa where those particular mozzies hang out. Sadly, our relatives stay in one of those places.

I wanted to take our dog Zona with us on holiday but mum said no. She was not having that hairy mutt slobbering and panting in her car for hours and hours.

Dad was more realistic and pointed out that our family has plenty of dogs of their own, there are not many fences and so it would not be safe to take Zona with us.

Mum said that we could get old Mr Whatsit next door to come and feed Zona whilst we were away.

There was a bit of an argument – Dad said that it was a bit risky to ask an elderly neighbour to look after our dog for five whole days. What happened if he forgot or if he got sick or something.

He said he would rather book Zona into the kennels for those days and then we would know for sure that she was being looked after. Plus she would not be lonely either because there are people around and there are other dogs to bark at.

That started me thinking… Mum usually invites Mr Whatsit to our house for Christmas dinner because he lives on his own and his family – if he has any – is not around.

I looked at Mum. Shame, poor Mr Whatsit! He’ll be really lonely too.

Mum agreed and said she’d talk to some of the other aunties in the street and see who would love to have him join their family for Christmas lunch or dinner this year. She’d organise it before we left to go on holiday.

It’s so sad when people get old and nobody looks after them or comes to visit. Must be very lonely just sitting by yourself all day with only the television for company.

Sometimes I have to do errands for him. He’s a bit grumpy but mum says I should not let that put me off – he’s actually quite a sweetie at heart.

Remember to make a plan with your animals if you are going away please!

Sibo

Meanie Mozzies

Sibo taking a pill

Hi Everybody.

It’s cool to have no school for a couple of weeks? Have you all been to the library to get some books to read? If you are not a member already – it’s easy to join. Pop in and find out what you need to do to become a member.  Sometimes they have interesting programmes running during the holidays too – you don’t want to miss out.

I’m super excited because we’re going to visit my family in Limpopo for a few days.  We always have such fun. Only problem is… they live in a malaria area. The mozzies are mean there. It’s not so bad when it is winter but still, my mum is a bit neurotic about us getting sick, so we take the anti-malaria pills anyway. Malaria is an extremely nasty disease. It’s responsible for killing lots and lots of people every year, especially babies.

Apparently it feels a bit like getting flu – you have a fever, headache, get the chills, feel like throwing up and have achy bones.

That sounds just nasty.

There are other things you can do to not get bitten by that sneaky Anopheles mosquito – and it really is only that particular species of mozzie that gives people (and animals) malaria.

You can sleep under a mozzie net. That’s really cool. Last time we visited I slept under one and felt just like a princess. I would not mind having one at home. You can also make sure you wear long sleeved shirts and long pants at night time – it’s good to wear socks too. That makes it even more difficult for the little biters to get to your skin.

They breed in puddles of water that is not moving – so it’s a good idea to make sure that there are no tires or tins hanging around the house that have smelly old water in them.

If you get bitten by a normal mozzie in a non-malaria area – here are some tips on how to stop the bite from itching. I’m not sure if they all work or not, but some people swear by them…

A dab of vanilla essence, Vicks, spit (yes, really), tee tree oil, clear nail polish, calamine lotion, aloe vera and you can rub a peeled clove of garlic on the bite – except then you smell like pizza!

Have fun in the holidays – remember you can visit my website and download stuff to do – www.sibo.co.za

Sibo

PS – I’ve got a book called Sibo Fights Malaria that was sponsored by the University of Pretoria Centre for Sustainable Malaria Control and The Department of Health – go have a look.

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