Pro-Femmes Twese Hamwe in partnership with the Global Fund  through its Rwanda Coordinating Mechanisms and Rwanda Biomedical Centre is conducting a campaign to train residents about science proven malaria causes, prevention and treatment in order to end community myth about the disease.

Pro-Femmes Twese Hamwe (PFTH) is an umbrella organization working for the advancement of women, peace, and development in Rwanda while the Global Fund is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics including malaria, HIV and Tuberculosis.

The campaign started in 2019 is still underway and is among several efforts established to eradicate malaria by 2030.

“Initially, residents understood malaria as a disease caused by eating mangoes, sugarcane or being exposed to the rain. This myth was eradicated through education and behavior change campaigns in our village,” Jean Uzabakiriho, a health worker in the Rwahi sector, Gakenke district, and Northern Province said.

 “We have been trained to prevent and to treat malaria. The disease is caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes; it’s not connected to eating mangoes and other things we thought about.”

According to Uzabakiriho, Malaria cases received at Rwahi health center have dropped significantly to an average of five from thirty-five cases per month, in the last two years.

“Residents have been sensitized about sleeping under treated mosquito nets, slashing bushes near homes and avoiding stagnant water which are breeding sites for mosquitoes. These have helped greatly to the fight against malaria,” Uzabakiriho further said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) report indicates that malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are spread to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. WHO reports indicate that there are five parasite species that cause Malaria.

Among them, only two including species – P. falciparum and P. vivax – pose the greatest threat.

In Rwanda, awareness and behavior change campaigns have been regularly conducted among large groups and door to door by trained community health workers and PFTH officials to combat the disease, and to defy the myth about it.

They were conducted in malaria hotspots including Bukure, Giti, Mutete, Rukomo, Rwamiko of Gicumbi district, Northern Province.4

Other malaria hotspots are Buyoga, Masoro, Murambi, Ntarabana, and Shyorongi located in Rulindo district, Northern Province.

In Gakenke district, malaria hotspot sectors are Coko, Mataba, Muhondo, Rusasa, and Ruli. These sectors cover 76% of all malaria cases in Northern Province, according to PFTH.

These areas are hotspots because they are neighboring marshlands and mining sites that are among breeding sites for mosquitoes. They neighbor Rwanda’s longest river−Nyabarongo.

According to the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC), using treated mosquito nets, prevention campaigns, indoor residual spraying and preventive interventions has seen Rwanda slash malaria cases by 71% between 2016 and 2021.

Dr Aimable Mbituyumuremyi, Head of the Malaria and other Parasitic Infections Unit at RBC told the media in July this year that the drop in the cases can mainly be attributed to massive campaigns by partners that are running since 2017 that saw mosquito treated bed nets distributed across the country.

"We compare years and that's how we track the trends. In 2017/18, we had 1.8 million Malaria cases. In 2019/20, the number moved up to 2.5 million. However, tentative numbers that we have for 2020/21 indicate that the number has since moved down to 1.4 million cases," Mbituyumuremyi said then.

According to RBC figures released in July 2021, the number of severe malaria cases has also improved.

In 2015/16, Rwanda recorded 18,000 severe malaria cases.

However, in the 2019/20 fiscal year, the number declined to 4,000 cases and for 2020/21, only 2,500 cases were recorded, according to RBC.

“Our district is among malaria hotspots but as the district hospital we have hit a record zero malaria death case since last year. This is a milestone. This year we haven’t received a severe malaria case,” Dr. Jean Baptist Hitimana, Director of Gakenke district hospital said.

 “I think we received about five cases this year, which were treated successfully. The drop is owed to intensified efforts by partners like PFTH who conducted door to door malaria prevention campaigns,” Dr. Hitimana said.

For this medical practitioner, if campaign efforts and individual responsibility continue in communities, it is possible for Rwanda to eradicate Malaria.