Malaria ravages Adamawa communities

… As residents turn mosquito nets to fishing nets, wedding gowns
From PAUL ORUDE, Bauchi
Fishermen from Shelleng, a Local Government Area in Adamawa State, with the large expanse of the famous Kiri Dam generously spreading and cutting through several of its communities, are like fishermen elsewhere.
They are seen plying their trade with dexterity in the several Adamawa rural fishing communities that have sprung up along the banks of the major rivers in the area – Benue, Gongola and Yedsarem-with the majority living below the poverty line.
Sadly, most of these Adamawa fishing communities are malaria endemic, as the fishermen and their families often fall sick and many die from the effects of the disease.
The fishermen belong to the Kana-Kura ethnic extraction. They live peacefully with other ethnic groups in this scattered Adamawa south community, including Hausa Fulani and other minority ethnic groups. But that was before the Boko Haram crisis started upsetting the peace.
On 14 May 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Adamawa State due to the activities of the Islamist network Boko Haram. But the peace in most of these communities, including Shelleng is obvious. The biggest threat to the lives of the fishermen and their families in the communities is, not Boko Haram; it is the scourge of malaria which has claimed many lives.
Mosquito nets and malaria
Known for their hard work and hospitality, the fishermen are usually seen casting their nets to cash fish with breathtaking dexterity along the riverbank. But if you look closely, you will discover that among the nets being used by the average fisherman in Adamawa are treated mosquito nets.
“It is absurd to use mosquito nets to catch fish instead of sleeping in them to prevent malaria,” Usman Bagudu, a community health worker based in Shelleng, the headquarters of Shelleng Local Government lamented. “Most of our communities are located in the riverine areas and malaria is killing our people,” Usman observed.
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease transmitted via a bite from an infected female Anopheles mosquito.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), malaria kills a child every 45 seconds and the disease accounts for seven per cent of all under-five childhood deaths.
Figures from the Federal Ministry of Health showed that Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest mortality rates in the world with malaria contributing 11 per cent to its deaths.
The National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) has discovered that malaria kills more than any other disease, hence the need to focus on it.
One of the strategies of the roll-back malaria is to distribute 63 million insecticide treated nets, with over 51 million nets distributed in 33 states so far, sources from the NMCP revealed.
His Royal Highness, Amna Shelleng, Dr. Abdulahi Kindiga Managina, said all efforts to prevent and reduce the impact of the scourge of malaria cases in Shelleng are being hampered due to the use of treated nets by fishermen in the area to catch fish.
The problem runs in other riverine communities in the state, including Maiha and Demsa Local Government areas, where mosquito nets are popularly used for fishing.
“Our people need to be cautioned to stop using mosquito nets to catch fish. It is sad that some fishermen in Demsa have converted treated nets to fishing nets out of ignorance,” said Doctor Newton Nabiyaubeh, Chairman of Demsa Local Government area.
Nabiyaubeh said the development was causing a setback in the fight against malaria in the area.
“Demsa is a riverine area and we are highly infected by malaria. Our children and pregnant mothers are being killed by malaria,” he lamented.
Stopping the killer disease
As part of health interventions geared towards reducing deaths of under-five children and women for the attainment of health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a team supported by UNICEF carried out social mobilisation campaigns on malaria control using long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLNS utilisation) in parts of the state.
The team crisscrossed the rugged terrain of Shelleng, travelled to Geria, a semi-urban community near Yola , the state capital and wrapped up the campaign in the fishing community of Maiha in the south, central and north senatorial zones of Adamawa State respectively.
Other strategies adopted by the team in the campaign on malaria control included advocacy visits to Demsa, Fulfure and Mubi North Local Government areas of the state.
“All these areas are highly infected by malaria,” Samuel Leneke, Adamawa State Director of Information who was part of the team, noted.
Inuwa Bello, the team’s lead facilitator, observed that malaria has seriously affected development in Adamawa, hence the need to create more awareness on prevention through use of treated nets.
“Mosquito nets, if properly used and maintained, can provide a physical barrier to hungry mosquitos,” said Bello.
Mr. Timothy Kadala, the Adamawa Manager of the Roll Back Malaria, disclosed that the state government, in partnership with UNICEF and other donor agencies, in 2010 distributed over 1.5 million insecticide treated bed nets to households in the state.
Sadly, most of these nets have since been converted to fishing nets rather than mosquito nets to prevent malaria
Bello said sleeping in treated nets could reduce deaths in young children by an average of 20 per cent.
He warned that those who are not in the habit of sleeping under mosquito nets needed to be convinced of their usefulness and should start using such nets on a regular basis.
Drama as weapon of behavioural change
Bello said the team hoped to change the attitude of the fishermen through an unconventional method. He said his team would convince the fishermen to stop using the mosquito nets as fishing nets through the local theatre.
He said: “Now, how do you change the attitude of people when you are not living with them?  We thought the usage of community theatre groups would be effective.”
Bello said such local theatre groups established with the support of UNICEF have proven to be highly successful.
“We trained a minimum of three theatre groups in each of the states in the D Field office. For instance in Adamawa State, we trained three groups in Gerei, Mubi South and Ganye to use the medium of theatre to advocate for the proper use of treated nets and any other health and community related challenges in terms of communication.”
Halima Danladi, 29, from Shelleng Local Government area of the state watched a local drama on the use of mosquito nets to prevent malaria during the mass mobilisation in the community.
The mother of four, who was holding her youngest child, Mohammed, who was just 15 months old, said she laughed her heart off but the message was not lost on her.
“This drama has opened my eyes to see the implications of not sleeping under the nets,” she enthused.
Halima said besides fishermen, many people in the community also use treated nets as wedding gowns, washing sponge, curtains in their homes and even as turban for traditional rulers.
Reeling from the impact of the drama, she said: “We will tell our husbands not to use the nets to catch fish again because sleeping under mosquito nets makes the difference in the family. We used to experience malaria in my family but I am happy that none of my children has died because of this dreaded disease. The drama has also taught me that my family can save money if we sleep inside nets and we won’t fall sick and be spending money on treatment of malaria.
“Now I know that we can use the money spent on local herbs to feed our family, train our children in school and solve other family problems.”
The drama on use mosquito nets to control malaria was replicated in Gerei and Maiha with similar impact. The district head of Gerei appealed to the women in the community to turn up for the coming Maternal and New-born Child Health week, where nets would be distributed so as to get the mosquito nets free. He urged his subjects to make good use of them.
He also advised his people to maintain a clean and hygienic lifestyle in order to reduce cases of malaria.