World Malaria Day

World Malaria Day was established in May 2007 by the 60th session of the World Health Assembly, WHO's decision-making body. The day was established to provide "education and understanding of malaria" and spread information on "year-long intensified implementation of national malaria-control strategies, including community-based activities for malaria prevention and treatment in endemic areas.

World Malaria Day (WMD) is an international observance commemorated every year on 25 April and recognizes global efforts to control malaria. Globally, 3.3 billion people in 106 countries are at risk of malaria. In 2012, malaria caused an estimated 627,000 deaths, mostly among African children.Asia, Latin America, and to a lesser extent the Middle East and parts of Europe are also affected.

World Malaria Day sprung out of the efforts taking place across the African continent to commemorate Africa Malaria Day. WMD is one of eight official global public health campaigns currently marked by the World Health Organization(WHO), along with World Health Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Immunization Week, World Tuberculosis Day, World No Tobacco Day, World Hepatitis Day and World AIDS Day.

According to the most recent World Malaria Report, the global tally of malaria reached 429,000 malaria deaths and 212 million new cases in 2015. The rate of new malaria cases fell by 21 per cent globally between 2010 and 2015, and malaria death rates fell by 29 per cent in the same period. In sub-Saharan Africa, case incidence and death rates fell by 21 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively.

“Zero malaria starts with me”

After more than a decade of steady advances in fighting malaria, progress has levelled off.  According to WHO’s latest World malaria report, no significant gains were made in reducing malaria cases in the period 2015 to 2017. The estimated number of malaria deaths in 2017, at 435 000, remained virtually unchanged over the previous year.

Urgent action is needed to get the global response to malaria back on track – and ownership of the challenge lies in the hands of countries most affected by malaria. On World Malaria Day 2019, WHO joins the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, the African Union Commission and other partner organizations in promoting “Zero malaria starts with me,,” a grassroots campaign that aims to keep malaria high on the political agenda, mobilize additional resources, and empower communities to take ownership of malaria prevention and care.

HEY YOU, DO YOU KNOW CHILD MARRIAGE MAIN FEATURES?

First able, I would like to spend few words in order to introduce myself.

I am Martina, I am 22 years old and I am currently doing an Internship at HEEALS, an NGO which is facing with several issues that nowadays annoy the Indian society.

In this article I would like to guide you inside the obscure world of child marriage.

In India, the legal age for the marriage is 21 years old for the men and 18 years old for the girls, but one thing is having a law, other is enforcing it. As a matter of fact, every years, a remarkable and unthinkable number of children is enforce to get married from his family. According to UNICEF, globally, 36% of women aged 20-24 were married or in a union, forced or consensual, before they have reached 18. In addition,  an estimated 14 million girls between the ages of 15 and 19 give birth each year.

Child marriage is an evident violation of child rights, and has a negative impact on physical growth; health, mental and emotional development, and also on education opportunities.

Both girls and boys are affected by child marriage, even if girls are involved with a greater intensity. Moreover that phenomenon can be seen, across the Country (India obviously), with a superior incidence in rural areas than in urban. Particularly girls from poorer families, scheduled castes and tribes, with lower education levels are more likely to get married at a younger age.

“The Hindu”, a local journal, explains that despite the last changes through the modernity, such as the spread of technology, the improvements of work conditions and instruction, the older uses and costumes are becoming more and more widespread . For this reason, it is possible to conclude that the technological developments has not been followed by a social growth. Broadly speaking, parents tend to believe that their children, with their phone and their Internet connection, tend to lost easily their sense of duty and theirs innocence, so getting marriage since childhood is a safe way for “controlling and saving” them.

Likewise, another important cause of the child marriage is the endemic poverty. Families not only cannot afford a good level instruction for their children but also they strongly believe that it is better for them working instead of studying. Often poor families sell their children into marriage either to settle debts or to make some money, also because marriages seem to be a solution to secure to the younger a successful future. Furthermore, giving a daughter in marriage allows parents to reduce family expenses by ensuring they have one less person to feed, clothes and education. In communities where a dowry or ‘bride price’ is paid, it is welcome income for poor families; in those where the bride’s family pays the groom a dowry, they often have to pay less money if the bride is young and uneducated.

Having said that, now it is necessaire considering the consequences of child marriage. Among them, there are, in order of importance, an high level of children death; a spread of illness, like for instance HIV or AIDS; and last but not least a growth of the marginalization of young girls, that brings to a lack of education and consciousness.

It is vital understand that all these outcomes are not enclose only inside a families or a single persons, but they affect the global Indian society, reinforcing the cycle of endemic poverty and perpetuating gender discrimination, illiteracy and malnutrition.

Youngs are an uncountable resources for the economic, cultural and social society and they are a necessary millstone for built up future generations with new and more fair values.

To sum up, child marriage is still widespread in India, which is home to a third of the world’s child brides because about half of Indian women were married before they turn 18.

Figuring out the primary  facts of  child marriage is a duty for us, who live in a different part of the World, because only in these way we can try solve the problem permanently.

Martina Scavino

HEEALS Report On Water Sanitation Menstrual Hygiene & Girl Education

In August 2013, HEEALS carried out a monitoring and evaluation  exercise on its Water Sanitation Menstrual Hygiene and Girl Education projects in three schools following the delivery of previous awareness training. Results of the monitoring and evaluation are now available to view in our HEEALS report.

One issue to consider is that despite many girls having a good awareness and knowledge of Menstrual Hygiene, they are unable to practice what they know due to lack of facilities available in school.  The bad conditions of toilet facilities were reported by most participants, who stated that there was nowhere to place sanitary pads and no soap or water for hand washing. Similarly, many girls displayed an awareness of the importance of hand washing, yet were unable to put this into practice at school.

Schools greatly influence the behavior and mentality of children – they look to school as a source of knowledge. Yet through lack of sanitation facilities, schools are contributing to creating the mentality that hand washing and hygiene practices are not necessary. Lack of Menstrual Hygiene facilities  lead to menstrual hygiene becoming an invisible issue which is not addressed, increasing the  embarrassment  of young girls to discuss Menstrual Hygiene.

Another key point to consider is that most girls reported being treated differently by their family during menstruation, and cited parental choice as the main factor in the girl’s education. Parents need to be included in Menstrual Hygiene and Water Sanitation awareness projects as well as teachers and male students, to develop understanding surrounding these issues and to support girls in obtaining a good education.

Read the full report here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3-sg3TTDoppTmdYdW0yWUVEc3M/edit