The Impact of Technology

In a way that technology impacted my learning has been through an easy access to new and different types of information. We have the opportunity to be open to all these websites that give us the tools to expand our learning and have more information about a topic that we are interest in. Most of the time we take for grant it how accessible is for us to learn about a new issue that is happening in our planet. We may hear about it everywhere, but we don'take the time to actually do the research for the issue and see the different perspectives and point of views that different people have. Reading the posts that my classmates posted made me realize that the information is out there. Some of the posts putted me in a difficult position. It seems like the only reason people decides to stay ignorant is because they choose to not take action. Technology is a way for people to share what they are passionate about with others. It gives you the freedom to say "this is what interest me and this is what it is happening around us" even though most of the people don't want to face reality. So now we have to ask ourselves in which part of the equation we want o remain for the rest of our lives.

My Learning and Understanding

One of the main reasons why I chose this topic is because Malaria has always been known as one of the top diseases in Africa, but not that many people takes the time to answer the questions of why? And What's the impact that has on the people living there? This investigation helped me to obtain more understanding about the issue and the different situations that the population in Africa deals with. We tend to take this type of issues for granted because of the simple fact that it isn't happening to us, making ourselves blind, walking the other way, pretending that everything is under control, when in reality the problem still exist and we are just not giving it the attention it needs so it can be stop. It is interesting how Malaria not only affects the population, but it also has a huge impact on the economy and it is one of the causes for the cycle of poverty in Africa to still continue ; I never thought of that and it is definitely a good piece of information to take in. Everything is connected in one way or another and even though different organizations are trying to help it doesn't mean that we can't get involved in the movement. We can do as little as spreading awareness and spreading our knowledge. Thinking that the only reason why we don't have to deal with situations like that its because we are lucky to have such a great environment to live in. Everyone has the right to a safe environment and I admire everyone who is trying to make a change in the world by trying to achieve that for the people in Africa. I know it's hard and it has taken many years just to make it all the way they had by involving more and more people everyday, but organization hasn't given up and they are always looking for new medicine, new ways to educate the population about what's happening and the preventions they should be taking at home about Malaria. All of that requires dedication and motivation to know that everything takes time in this life and every cause needs to be fought for until the end.  

Random Facts About Africa...

1.  Africa is the second largest of the earth’s seven continents and makes up approximately 22% of the earth’s total land area.


2.  While Africa makes up about 16% of the world’s population, fully one quarter of the world’s languages are spoken only in Africa.


3. Arabic (in various dialects) is the most common language spoken in Africa with about 170 million speakers, primarily residing in North Africa. In the continent as a whole, there are over 2,000 recognized languages spoken.


4. African elephants are the largest living land animals.They can weigh up to 6-7 tons and drink 160 liters of water a day.


5. Difficult to estimate but there are at least 3,000 distinct ethnic groups in Africa. A large country like Nigeria has more than 370 recognized tribes.


6. Africa is the second largest continent (after Asia) with 700 million people.


7. Egypt is the most popular tourist destination in Africa, attracting around 10 million visitors per year.


8. There are fewer people with Internet access in the entire Africa than in New York City alone.


9. More people are killed in Africa by crocodiles than by lions.


10. Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa with an estimated population of 125 - 145 million people.

SOLUTIONS

The mission to remove malaria from developing countries has been a challenge. Positive movement towards success has been forthcoming in the past few years through continued efforts and assistance from NGOs and worldwide corporate support.

Delivering Lifesaving Solutions 

The United Methodist Church, along with others church groups and humanitarian organization teach simple methods of prevention and treatments such as:

• closing the doors and windows of a home at night to block the entry of nocturnal anopheles mosquitoes
• emptying containers filled with stagnant water
• clearing brush away from home
• the used correctly of insecticide treated bed nets

Engaging the African Public

Joining with African leaders in all sector of society to engage audiences with a locally-driven message and change African families think about malaria.

Shining a Spotlight on Malaria  

Engage people worldwide, raise awareness about the disease, and show how everyone can be part of the victory against malaria. Educate the many on what the condition and status of malaria is in Africa and don't stop there. Communicate and share this challenge with a friend.

raise awareness. source: Google images

  

Who is involved?

   Andy Pluz -fighting Malaria official video. source: youtube

MALARIA NO MORE

Malaria No More leverages high - impact awareness campaigns to engaged the world, global advocacy to rally leadership and strategic investments in Africa to accelerate progress, built capacity and save lives. 

MEDICINES FOR MALARIA VENTURE 

 Their mission: reduce the burden of malaria in disease endemic countries by discovering, developing, and facilitating delivery of new, effective and affordable antimalarial drugs

 Their vision: a world where this innovated medicines will cure and protect the vulnerable and under-served populations at risk of malaria,  and help to ultimately eradicate this terrible disease. 

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) 

The directing and coordinating for authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends

UNICEF

 is a funding partner, with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM)initiative, a global partnership established in 1998 to halve the world's malaria burden.

In recognition of its role as one of the biggest killers of children in Africa, malaria prevention and control interventions from an integral component of a minimum package of UNICEF's high impact maternal and child survival interventions. Integrated programming of this kind utilizes existing systems with relatively high utilization by target groups, including the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI), child health days for children under five and antenatal care (ANC) for pregnant women

Causes of Malaria

You can only get malaria if you're bitter by an infected mosquito, or if you receive infected blood from someone during a blood transfusion. Malaria can also be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy. source:  youtube

The mosquitoes that carry Plasmodium parasite get it from biting a person or animal that's already been infected. The parasite then goes through various changes that enable it to infect the next creature the mosquito bites. Once it's in you, it multiplies in the liver and changes again, getting ready to infect the next mosquito that bites you. it then enters the bloodstream and invades red blood cells. eventually, the infected red blood cells burst. This sends the parasites throughout the body and causes symptoms of malaria.

AN URBAN SNAPSHOT

stagnant water in Africa. source: Google images

 In the pooewar neighborhoods, stagnant water from overflowing sewers pools in low lying areas a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes carrying malaria. The areas where these stagnant ponds develop is costly and drains community's resources, especially during the rainy season. Families too poor to move or to improve their communities are trapped in high risk environments where malaria and other diseases run. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

In a malaria education workshop, participants were surprised to learn that malaria could actually be prevented. They saw it as common and inevitable. In some areas, people still hold mistaken beliefs  about malaria that it caused by witchcraft or by too much sun exposure, or by consuming too much palm oil. Simply knowing that malaria is a parasite that is transmitted by mosquitoes can be life saving.

bed net in Africa. source: Google images

 Poverty stricken communites do not have the resources to protect their residents from malaria. In the United States a long-lasting, insecticide treaded bed net would cost about $10, a full course of malaria medications only $5. But many people in Africa are living  on less than $2 a day and can't afford to buy these life saving items.

What is Malaria?

Malaria  is caused by a parasite,called Plasmodium, that is passed from one human to another by the bite of infected 

Anopheles mosquitoes.It is the most important tropical disease occurring in many temperate regions and poses a risk to travelers and immigrants with imported cases increasing in non-endemic areas. Because of the severity of the health disease, malaria was included in the Millennium Goals which were established by the UN in 2000 with the intention of tackling global poverty and health inequality. However, over the past few decades, the come back of the disease is being witnessed. The dream of the global elimination of malaria is beginning to fade with the growing number of cases, the rapid spread of drug resistance in people, and the increasing insecticide resistance in mosquitoes.

According to the World Health Organization's World Malaria Report 2010:

• At the end of 2009, more than half the worldwide population lived in areas at risk of malaria transmission in 107 countries and territories.
• The number of worldwide malaria cases hit 225 million in 2009.
• At least 781,000 died in 2009 due to malaria.
• About 60 percent of the cases of malaria and more than 80 percent of the malaria deaths worldwide occur in Africa South of the Sahara.

A Child Dies Every 30 Seconds...

People with malaria often experience fever, chills, and flu-like illness.Approximately 80 percent of malaria cases and 90 to 95 percent of malaria related deaths in the world are estimated to be in Africa .It infects 350-500 million people each year, affecting mostly children in Sub-Saharan. Malaria remains the single largest cause of death for children under five, where it kills one child every 30 seconds. This translates to the deaths of approximately 3,000 children every day.    

                          

                    
                "Malaria Areas" source: google images 
                    

Malaria Can Affect a Person's Health in Various Ways:.

• Some people infected with a particularly virulent strand can develop complications such as brain disease, severe anemia, and kidney failure. Severe forms occur more frequently in people with little protective immunity, and can result in death or life long neurologic impairment.
• Babies born to women who had malaria during their pregnancy are more often born with a low birth weight which decreases their chances of survival during early life.

Who is Most Vulnerable:

• Young children, who have no yet developed immunity to malaria.
• Pregnant women, whose immunity is decreased by pregnancy.
• Travelers or migrants coming from areas with little or no malaria transmission , who lack immunity.

Malaria a Result of Poverty

 Effective, preventive and curative tools have been developed, but many people in Africa are living on less than $2 a day and can't afford to buy life-saving items. However, malaria parasites are developing high levels of resistance to one drug after another and many insecticides are no longer useful against mosquitoes transmitting the disease. The difference between life and death often depends on one's environment and ability to get treatment very soon. If treatment for a child with malaria is delayed by more than 30hrs, there is a 90 percent likelihood that the child will die. Malaria affects the health and economic growth of individuals and nations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Malaria is costing Africa about $12 billion a year in economic output, and according to the UN economists, malaria is one of the top four causes of poverty. Ending malaria is the most important priority in lifting Africa out of poverty.