USAID Has Awarded $7.8 Million Grant to Senegal Against Malaria Campaign

US Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded a $7.8 million grant to the NGO Consortium led by Christian Children's Fund (CCF) in partnership with World Vision, Plan, Africare, Catholic Relief Services and Counterpart International for the Community Action Against Malaria Campaign. Combined with the $12.8 million for Community Health, USAID gives the NGO consortium a total of $20.6 million for program implementation over five years.

Malaria kills more than one million people worldwide every year, with 90 percent of those deaths being attributed to children in Africa. In Senegal, malaria is the leading cause of death for women and children, specifically pregnant women and children under 5 years of age.

Anne Lynam Goddard, President of Christian Children's Fund, announced that CCF has been awarded a $7.8 million USAID grant to lead a five-member consortium for the Community Action Against Malaria campaign in Senegal in support of the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI).

"Reducing infant and maternal mortality rates from malaria by 50 percent is the goal of CCF's malaria program in 11 different regions and 58 health districts of Senegal," Goddard said. Almost 880,000 children 0-5 years of age and 75,000 pregnant women will be the direct beneficiaries of the new malaria initiative. "This new USAID grant will go far in helping CCF and our partners significantly expand our malaria program initiative to new regions throughout Senegal."

Senegal is one of 15 African countries targeted by the President's Malaria Initiative to reduce mortality rates from malaria by 50%. The consortium implementing the USAID malaria grant is supporting a large-scale community- based spraying campaign in three districts, protecting up to 630,000 Senegalese people. Significant community awareness campaigns will also be conducted to educate families about participating in the malaria program. In the first year, they will also facilitate distribution of 200,000 treated bednets to children in the target areas of Senegal.

CCF, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, aims to enhance capacity building of community based organizations, local health districts, and community-run health clinics (health huts). This will include training and support to regional health posts, nurses and community health workers in the treatment of malaria, using the latest and most effective medicines in targeted villages.

In addition, CCF will implement a communications and education campaign to encourage pregnant women and young children in affected areas to use treated bednets. CCF will also provide training to help mothers, grandmothers and community workers recognize the symptoms of malaria and to encourage all pregnant women to get prenatal care at the nearest health clinic.

Improving access to basic health services includes program expansion to 1,058 health huts and training to more than 4,232 community health workers and birth attendants. They will work locally with mothers and children in the more remote villages of targeted regions in Senegal. The health huts are community level health outposts, which are often the only accessible health facilities for poor, rural families in Senegal.

"We have already seen significant progress in CCF's recent Community Action Against Malaria initiative in Senegal," Goddard said. "To date, the availability of bednets at the community level has increased three-fold. Children under 5, sleeping under treated bednets has increased from 40-90 percent in program areas. The percentage of pregnant mothers receiving preventive treatment has reached 90 percent in just one target area," Goddard noted.

The President's Malaria Initiative is a $1.2 billion, five-year initiative to control malaria in Africa. It is led by USAID in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The intent is to reduce malaria deaths by 50 percent in target countries, by achieving 85 percent coverage of proven preventive and curative interventions.

Christian Children's Fund (CCF) is a global force for children, helping the world's poorest and most vulnerable survive and thrive in order to reach their full potential. One of the world's oldest and most respected international child development organizations, CCF works in 31 countries and assists more than 13.2 million children and families worldwide, regardless of race, creed or gender.

SOURCE Christian Children's Fund

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