By Malaria No More Representative Christina Roberts

 

Progress on the Ground
Betafo District, Madagascar
October 23, 2007

Today was THE day. The whole week has been incredible - the flight in, the warm welcome from the Malagasy people, the campaign launch ceremony - but today was the reason that we traveled to Madagascar. We came to see, first hand, the children of this vibrant country receive life saving bed nets.

After another early morning wake-up call, we were out the door and on our way to Betafo, where the Olyset bed nets contributed by Malaria No More and Sumitomo were being distributed. Because Oylset technology extends the life of an insecticide-treated bed net to five years, these nets were to be distributed in the more remote areas of Madagascar. Shortly after the sun rose, we boarded a 6-seat plane and enjoyed a good long look at the unique topography of the Central Highlands, blanketed by rice patty farmland.

Once we were back on land, we made our way to the main event - a distribution site for this week's massive Mother and Child Health Week campaign. We weren't the only people up early. The Malagasy villagers were out in force - children walking to school, men hard at work transporting all kinds of tools, bricks and goods to their work place...and women carrying their babies to the distribution site.

For months, I've been helping to work out the details for Malaria No More's contribution to this campaign on paper - and so I had pictures in my head of what we were to see today. But as has been true of the whole trip, today blew my expectations right out of the water. After parking our car, we walked away from the road and deeper into the village. There were kids casually playing and enjoying the occasion. But then we rounded a corner to find a sea of mothers and children patiently waiting for the measles vaccines, Vitamin A, deworming medication...and of course, a bed net. I was in awe of the community participation in this campaign. The massive line lead to a tent under which community volunteers registered each person, administered each health intervention, and then handed each mother a bed net. They kept coming, and the community health workers kept giving.

And then they were off. The villagers went back to their homes and back to their lives...safer than they were when they rose to greet the morning. What a difference a day makes.

 

Celebration of Partnership
Fianarantsoa, Madagascar
October 22, 2007

Wow, it's been quite a day here in Madagascar. During the past week, Malaria No More's campaign partners from all over the world have descended upon Madagascar to celebrate and assist in the launch of Mother and Child Health Week, during which over 1.4 million bed nets will be distributed and more than four million mothers and children will benefit from a package of free health services.

By 5:30 a.m. this morning, we were all on our way to the official launch site of the campaign here in Madagascar. To my amazement, lining the streets were thousands of Malagasy children and their parents – all eager to celebrate the arrival of free bed nets, Measles vaccinations, Vitamin A and other health interventions. The kids had obviously been given a pass on classes today, and why not? This campaign is a big deal in the lives of these precious children. In a country where 89% of people still live below the poverty line, these free interventions provide much-needed help that would otherwise be out of reach for most Malagasy people. This will be the biggest health related operation ever known in Madagascar, integrating a package of free-of-charge health services targeted towards children, pregnant women and mothers.

To a packed crowd of thousands of Malagasy people and a sprinkling of representatives from the President's Malaria Initiative, American Red Cross, UNICEF, Global Fund, Canadian Red Cross, Sumitomo, Vestergaard and others, Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana spoke with a deep commitment to winning the war against malaria in his country. In fact, in the days leading up to the launch, Malaria No More's Vice Chair John Bridgeland and I got to meet Madagascar's Minister of Health and Malaria Control Director. It's clear that the President's energy for this cause is contagious, as they both impressed us with powerful motivation and precise organization.

But back to the thrill of today. Yvonne Chaka Chaka, who I like to call the Whitney Houston of South Africa (though I believe they call her "The Princess of South Africa" here), had been asked to travel to Madagascar and attend the launch ceremony as a speaker at the ceremony. But when the President unexpectedly put her on the spot by asking her to sing a song – she kindly obliged with a crowd stirring performance. But I think my favorite song was sung by the crowd itself. I didn't understand what was said on stage (in Malagasy) to preempt the song, so I was awed when the air was suddenly filled with the a-cappella singing voices of thousands of Malagasy people. I have no idea what the song was about, but it certainly lifted the spirit of the occasion beyond any expectation I'd held.

As we had begun our day, we ended it with the children of Madagascar. They were everywhere, and eager to talk and game with us. As my French is poor and my Malagasy non-existent, I learned that quite a bit can be said with a smile and a high five. What a fantastically warming and wonderfully exhausting day. Good night from Madagascar.

 

Bird's Eye View – First Glimpse of Madagascar
October 16, 2007

I am writing from my airplane seat at 30,000 feet above the Earth, and after a long 24 hours of travel from the United States, I can finally see the breathtaking landscape of our destination – Madagascar!

Malaria No More's Vice-Chair, John Bridgeland, and I are joining our Measles Initiative campaign partners on the ground for the free distribution of nearly 1.4 million long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets (LLINs) to children under 5.

This bed net distribution is part of Madagascar's Mother and Child Health Week, October 22 to November 2, 2007. The government is integrating a number of health interventions (measles vaccination, de-worming, Vitamin A, along with bed nets) into one program at each of their rural health clinics to provide comprehensive one-stop care, health education, and important reinforcement of the importance of regular clinic visits. That's why Malaria No More is here, to help make sure that when mothers travel to these distribution sites with their children for any of the available health interventions, that they also receive a life saving bed net!

Malaria No More's participation in this campaign is possible because of the generosity of Sumitomo, whose 110,000 LLIN donation to Malaria No More will safeguard the lives of 110,000 children – starting now! Because of Sumitomo's gift, Malaria No More is able to use donor funds for the cost of distributing these nets and educating people on how to use them. We are thrilled that Sumitomo General Manager Tatsuo Mizuno will join us on the ground to see this distribution, first hand. Highlights this week will include a kick-off ceremony with the President of Madagascar and a trip to Betafo, where we will meet some of the Malagasy people benefiting from this effort.

Cooperation among partners in this effort is just incredible. Malaria No More is here with Measles Initiative partners American Red Cross, the President's Malaria Initiative, the United Nations Foundation, Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, and UNICEF. Also engaged are the Global Fund, Canadian Red Cross, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

This campaign will achieve 100% coverage of vaccinated children 0-59 months in the northwest, west, and south of the country, and in the valleys leading up the highlands from these regions.

Ok, the captain is announcing that we are about to land. I'll be back in touch soon!