Avoid Mosquitoes! Mosquitoes carry malaria and when they sting, infect you with the disease.
If possible, avoid living in or visiting areas at high risk for malaria
If you are traveling, take preventative medications
Lariam® and Malarone® are prescription drugs that can be used as prophylaxis. General a travelled will take the one of these drugs before, during, and after visiting to endemic areas.
Use insect repellent with a DEET concentration of 35%-50%
DEET was originally developed by the U.S. Army after World War II for wartime usage.
DEET can be purchased for $5-$15 from most outdoor stores and online at websites such as REI.COM.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that DEET does not present a significant health risk to consumers when used properly.When using DEET, the EPA advises the following:
Read and follow all directions and precautions on this product label.
Do not apply over cuts, wounds, or irritated skin.
Do not apply to hands or near eyes and mouth of young children.
Do not allow young children to apply this product.
Use just enough repellent to cover exposed skin and/or clothing.
Do not use under clothing.
Avoid over-application of this product.
After returning indoors, wash treated skin with soap and water.
Wash treated clothing before wearing it again.
Use of this product may cause skin reactions in rare cases. The following additional statements will appear on the labels of all
aerosol and pump spray formulation labels:
Do not spray in enclosed areas.
To apply to face, spray on hands first and then rub on face. Do not spray directly onto face
Source of list: EPA
Wear long sleeve shirts and pants, preferably treated with permethrin,a synthetic chemical used as an insecticide
Permethrin can be purchased from most outdoors supply stores and online in a spray form that can be applied to garmets.
Sleep Under a Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Mosquito Net (LLITN)
Bednets are one of the most cost effective ways to preventing malaria. These nets are constructed of mesh and allow people in high risk areas to sleep safely at night, when the risk of infection is highest. Bednets cost approximately $5-$10. Permanet® is one of several net manufacturers.
Re-impregnate your mosquito net every 6 months with insecticdes
Mosquito nets can be washed several times but eventually the insecticides are washed away.
If you have a high fever, chills, headache, nausea, fatigue, sweating, shaking, or vomitting, seek medical help immediately. When someone becomes infected with malaria, it is an emergency that requires immediate hospitalization.
If infected, consult with a physcian for medications:
If you are infected with malaria, there are several prescription drugs that can be used for treatment:
Donate money to hospitals and increase healthcare standards
Donate Money to help others purchase mosquito nets Against Malaria - has raised nearly $3 million dollars to purchase mosquito nets Malaria No More - is a popular charity, supported by various celebrities and frequently seen on television
Drain stagnant water in areas prone to mosquitoes to prevent egg-laying. Do not improperly dispose of tires, buckets, tanks, and other containers that may unintentionally become a reservoir for rain water.
Use appropriate sanitation methods
Employ vector control such as indoor residual spraying
The World Health Organization recommends indoor use of DDT to control malaria. Typically the walls and indoor surfaces of a home are sprayed. Usually this technique kills mosquitoes after they have taken a blood meal. To be most effective, this technique should be used in all homes throughout the community.
World Malaria Day was established and approved at the 60th World Health Assembly (WHA is the decision making body of the WHO) in March 2007. It replaces "Africa Malaria Day" which has been commemorated every year since 2001 on 25 April and will be celebrated from henceforth annually on the same day, in order to provide education and understanding of malaria as a global scourge that is preventable and a disease that is curable.
Africa Malaria Day was a day that was set aside by African governments committed to rolling back malaria and meeting the United Nations malaria-related Millennium Development Goals. But now Member states of the World Health Organisation have agreed that greater awareness is needed. It is hoped that the establishment of World Malaria Day will mobilize communities across the world to get involved in the fight.
Host a debate about malaria
Organize a time, place, and topic to discuss the disease. Some possible topics are:
Does the benefit of DDT outweigh the environmental costs?
Should the United States spend tax payer money on preventing malaria in places like Africa?
Should more money be spent on developing vaccines or buying bednets?
Create a presentation and speak out about malaria
Decide whether your speech should be informative or persuasive
Contact local clubs and organizations and offer to speak
Swim Against Malaria
Create a swimming event and join millions around the world who already raise money by swimming against malaria.
Become an expert on malaria
Become a doctor
Become a nurse
Study abroad and learn about the effects of malaria first hand
Help end extreme poverty
Use mosquito eating fish such as the guppy or gambusia
Yes, even fish can help kill malaria carrying mosquitoes!
Learn the history of malaria
Malaria has been around forever and killed more people than any other disease. Find out more about the history.
Create a map of malaria
Check out the Malaria Atlast Project, a group that is mapping out the spatial limits of the disease
Learn about the socioeconomic consequences of Malaria
According to the World Health Organization: Malaria causes an average loss of 1.3% annual economic growth in countries with intense transmission. When compounded over the years, this loss has lead to substantial differences in GDP between countries with and without malaria. Malaria traps families and communities in a downward spiral of poverty, disproportionately affecting marginalized populations and poor people who cannot afford treatment or who have limited access to health care. Malaria’s direct costs include a combination of personal and public expenditures on both prevention and treatment of disease. In some countries with a very heavy malaria burden, the disease may account for as much as 40% of public health expenditure, 30-50% of inpatient admissions and up to 60% of outpatient visits. Malaria has lifelong effects through increased poverty, impaired learning and decreases attendance in schools and the workplace.
Make a video about malaria on YouTube to increase awareness
Malaria Video - Use your webcam and post a response to this call to action UNICEF has its own YouTube Channel, subscribe to its videos
Although unbelievable, in some regions up to 40% of certain drug supplies are counterfeit and do not contain any ingredients that help treat malaria. Find out more about this from the Center for Disease Control.
Donate your computer’s downtime for modeling of clinical epidemiology of Malaria
Malaria Control Net is an application that makes use of network computing for stochastic modelling of the clinical epidemiology and natural history of Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
Help the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation fight Malaria
The organization has an endowment of approximately 34.6 billion dollars!
Earn a scholarship for malaria research
Visit Fast Web, one of the largest databases of scholarships in the United States and find scholarships geared towards combating malaria.
Develop new techniques such as genetically modifying (GM) mosquitoes to resist malaria
Scientists are attempting to redesign mosquitoes that resist malaria. Eventually, after safety and ethical issues are addressed, scientists want to replace the general population of mosquitoes with generticall modified ones.
Prevent insects from entering your home by using screens
Make sure your roof and yard drains rainfall and wastewaters properly
Use larvicides to kill mosquito larvae
Temephos is one insecticide that can be used in mosquito breeding habitats to eradicate larvae
Kill adult mosquitoes
Use an insecticide vaporizer
Use temporary area sprays such as malathion, fenitrothion, or pirimiphos methyl
Prevent mosquitoes from hiding indoors. Keep clothes and linens inside dressers or closets
Use an air conditioner to keep rooms cool. Mosquitoes prefer warmer air.
Use a mosquito coil
Mosquito coils can be placed around outdoor areas and protect up to 100 square feet per burning coil.
Take extra precautions if you are in a high-risk category such as: young children, seniors, pregnant women, chemotherapy patients, HIV/Aids patients, and people who have had their spleen removed.
Host a nets challenge and see how much money you can raise for mosquito nets
Participate and support the U.S. Presidential Malaria Initiative
The United States has pledged to increase malaria spending by 1.2 billion dollars over the next five years.
Write a letter to your local politicians, congress people, and senators to inform them about the need for malaria prevention and how they can play a role
Become a Social Entrepreneur
A Social entrepreneur recognizes a social problem and uses his/her entrepneur skills to create social change
Learn how to write grants and raise money to prevent malaria
Hundreds of organizations accept grant applications and will give your organization money to fight malaria.
Start your own non-profit organization and raise funds
Non-profit organizations are created to receive special tax treatment by the United States Government. This gives an economic incentive for citizens and businesses to contribute money.
Start or join a student organization or club at your university that focuses on malaria
Contact your school's student government and find out how to create a new club based on raising funds and awareness about malaria. Create some goals:
Raise money to fight malaria
Raise money for scholarships that take your group to help out and learn in high risk regions
Create events to inform other students about the disease
Urge faculty to have more in-class disccusions about malaria
Keep current with breakthroughs in malaria
Sign up to receive news about malaria everyday in your e-mail. Use the keyword "malaria."
Write a letter to the editor of your newspaper
Not good at writing? Several organizations have standard form letters that you can use.
Vote for government officials that support malaria prevention programs
Hold public figures accountable for protecting their constituents
Share your own personal malaria story
Start a project against malaria and find a network to support you on Malaria Engage
Use Mass Media to start an advertising campaign against malaria
Use the Center For Disease Control’s Interactive Training to learn more about the disease
Study the lifecycle of malaria and fight against at every step
Celebrate the progress that has already been made and acknowlede the efforts of those who work hard in fighting malaria
Understand the situation can be improved, help fight apathy
Apathy is a state of indifference where an individual has an absence of interest or concern to certain aspects of emotional, social, or physical life. Apathy can be object-specific toward a person, activity or environment. It is a common reaction to stress where it manifests as "learned helplessness."
Feel ill? Take a survey to see if your symptoms indicate malaria
Be individually responsible for yourself and your family's protection against malaria
Consider volunteering to infect yourself with malaria
A company in Seattle is accepting 100-300 volunteers per year that are willing to infect themselves with malaria for clinical research.
Think of the 102nd way to fight against malaria and send us an e-mail so we can update this list!
