Spots - Roll Back Malaria

OVERVIEWSPOTLIGHT ON MALARIAEach year, more than 300 million people around the world get malaria. Of these,more than a million die. Most of the people who die of malaria live in Sub-SaharanAfrica and most of these victims are children under five years old. Pregnant womenand their newborns are also especially vulnerable to malaria. Malaria makes poorcommunities suffer more and makes it difficult for people to work and support theirfamilies.Many African countries have malaria programs to help their communities fightmalaria. These programs encourage people to:• Get effective treatment quickly• Prevent and control malaria during pregnancy• Use insecticide-treated mosquito nets, especially for young children and pregnantwomen, to prevent malariaHOW RADIO CAN HELPMalaria programs also help communities combat malaria in emergency andepidemic situations. For more information about malaria, see the Frequently askedquestions about malaria in Annex 1.Communication is an important tool to help communities learn ways to prevent andtreat malaria. Health workers talk with families face to face about how to preventmalaria and how to treat the disease. This personal communication is the mosteffective way to teach parents. But the advice given by health workers reaches onlythose people who go to health facilities. National malaria programs try to reachcommunities in other ways, too. This Guide walks through the process of developingradio spots to help increase the number and effectiveness of malaria messagespeople hear.In many countries, radio is a very powerful tool because no mass medium reachesmore people, is easier to learn or cheaper to use. Radio can reinforce the advice thathealth workers give and deliver information to families who have not seen a healthworker recently.Spot On Malaria: Guide3