Working under the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), volunteers are delivering important malaria prevention messages to communities through a variety of approaches.
Mary Eve Nabwire follows professional painter’s steps to work on the mural. Photo source: Peace Corps
In preparation for and celebration of World Malaria Day 2014, Peace Corp volunteers raised community awareness on the proper use of bed nets through photo contests, murals, information booths and bed net appreciation photo displays, reaching 57,590 community members in malaria endemic areas in Kenya.
Universal bed net coverage is a key component, and is defined by the Government of Kenya as one net per two people, within endemic and epidemic- prone counties.
Working under the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), a $1.2 billion initiative that is rapidly scaling up malaria prevention and treatment interventions, the volunteers are delivering important malaria prevention messages to communities through a variety of approaches.
PMI is led by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with other U.S. Government agencies ─ including the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Peace Corps, and Department of Defense.
Since 2008, the President’s Malaria Initiative has invested over $173 million or Ksh. 14.7 billion iin a massive scale-up of malaria prevention and treatment measures across Kenya. In FY 2013, PMI procured 1,740,000 of long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) for free distribution to pregnant women and children under one year of age through antenatal clinics across the country.