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Awareness Of The Use Of Environmental Management In The Control And Prevention Of Malaria
[A CASE STUDY OF IFAKO IJAIYE LGA]
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Environmental management consists of installing and maintaining drains,
removing pools of stagnant water, managing vegetation, irrigating
intermittently, and altering rivers to create faster flowing water
(Keiser et al., 2005). Additional techniques include filling holes and
larviciding (Lindsay et al., 2004; Walker 2002; Yohannes et al., 2005).
Multiple studies have shown that the reduction of mosquito-breeding
habitat through environmental management has significantly decreased
mosquito abundance in surrounding areas (Ault, 1994; Okech et al., 2008;
Yasuoka et al., 2006a; Yohannes et al., 2005). Additionally, in Nepal,
community-based environmental management consisting of clearing
vegetation in ponds, draining and filling areas that collect water, and
repairing irrigation canals resulted in a reduction in malaria cases by
35% in the intervention villages in 1983 versus the baseline year (1982)
(Ault, 1994). This form of malaria control is relatively inexpensive,
simple for local communities to implement and maintain, and not harmful
to humans or the local environment (Keiser et al., 2005). Therefore,
community-level environ- mental management, if implemented as part of an
integrated vector-management program and paired with control
strategies, such as mosquito nets, could prove effective at reducing
malaria burden.
Whereas environmental management activities often are
performed by a central authority or a set of volunteers/ workers
(Lindsay et al., 2004; Utzinger et al., 2001; Yohannes et al., 2005),
there is increasing emphasis on the need to enlist local communities in
ongoing, decentralized malaria control activities. Yet household-level
environmental management relies on sufficient community participation to
achieve efficacy in reducing mosquito populations. An accurate
understanding of mosquito biology and habitat requirements is likely to
play a role in one’s participation in controlling these habitats to
reduce mosquito populations. Studies have illustrated that a lack of
understanding of mosquito biology is prevalent in African communities.
For example, in a survey of 1,451 households in Kenya, 65% of
respondents stated that they did not know what mosquito larvae look like
(Opiyo et al., 2007). Educational programs have been used to increase
community understanding and participation in malaria control through
activities such as identifying breeding habitat, observing larval
mosquitoes, and teaching techniques for suppression of mosquito breeding
(Mukabana et al., 2006; van den Berg and Knols, 2006; Yasuoka et al.,
2006b).
1.2 Statement of the problem
During the last 40 years, the
population of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has almost trebled, growing by
more than 15 million people each year, to the present level of over 600
million (www.fao.org).
As the population continues to grow, people
move away from the countryside to the cities, attracted by the hope of a
better life. At present, one third of Africans in SSA live in cities,
and this proportion is likely to grow in the future. In fact, it is
estimated that more than half of all Africans will live in cities by
2022. Thus the urban environment will become an increasingly important
feature of African life.
Although malaria is primarily a rural
disease, it can also be a considerable drain on populations living on
the fringes of urban settlements, causing significant morbidity and
mortality while also reducing productivity (Trape 1987, Bouganalih et
al. 1993, Baujat et al. 1997, Beier et al. 2003).
Following observation from the study area, it was clear that malaria was a significant public health problem in the cities.
This problem is likely to grow as a result of the increase in parasite strains resistant to chloroquine (Babirye et al. 2000).
At
present the major foci of malaria control include the case management
of clinical episodes of malaria, the promotion of insecticide-treated
nets (ITNs), focal indoor residual insecticide spraying (IRS),
presumptive treatment of malaria in pregnant women and environmental
management (EM). EM, through a process of social mobilization and
community participation, is being encouraged by the Ministry of Health
and includes filling small water collections, clearing bushes around
homes and closing windows early in the evening. With a growing focus on
community-level environ- mental management as a component of malaria
control, it becomes crucial to determine existing beliefs regarding the
link between malaria and the environment, and how these beliefs relate
to environmental management practices.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]Environmental conditions play an important role in the transmission of malaria; therefore, regulating these conditions can help to reduce disease burden. Environmental management practices for disease control can be implemented at the community level to complement other malaria control methods. This study assesses current knowledge and practices related to mosquito ecology and environmental management for malaria control in a rural, agricultural region of Lagos state Nigeria. Household surveys w ... Continue reading---
