Rotary Club of Siaya Completes Malaria Prevention Project
By Auscar Odhiambo Wambiya
The Rotary Club of Siaya has concluded implementation of a six-month malaria prevention program in Siaya County, Alego Usonga Sub County, West Alego Ward.
The project, which was implemented through Community Health Volunteers, had various activities including household mapping, identification of beneficiaries, needs assessment, awareness raising, procurement of nets, distribution of nets, community sensitization on malaria prevention, monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
The project saw about 1,000 mosquito nets distributed to about 2,000 beneficiaries with a net being used by at least two people per household. The tripartite partnership brought together Malaria Partners International, County Government of Siaya, and the Rotary Club of Siaya was funded to the tune of one million Kenya shillings.
The pilot project has identified major areas of need, particularly among community health volunteers which will be targeted by future interventions. Even as the project period ends, it is expected that the community sensitization that has been done will continue under the Siaya County government, thereby ensuring sustainability.
Malaria Vaccine
In April, almost four years after the introduction of the malaria vaccine in parts of Kenya, the World Health Organization Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme team visited government offices, health facilities and homes in the country’s western region to hear from health professionals, community members and caregivers about what the malaria vaccine means to them and how the four-dose vaccine is being integrated into the national immunization programme.
The first-ever malaria vaccine was recommended for use to prevent malaria in children in October 2021. More than 1.4 million children have received the vaccine across the three pilot countries of Kenya, Ghana and Malawi since 2019. About 400, 000 children in Kenya have received at least their first dose.
