$300 malaria intervention in rural African village.

  1. Pre-plan

    • Contact the local health clinic / District Malaria Focal Person and explain your campaign. Ask if they can: supply advice, accept referrals, or provide nets/RDTs at subsidized rates. Partnership avoids duplication and legal problems.

    • Identify target population (e.g., pregnant women + children <5, or 10–20 households).

  2. Procure supplies

    • Buy WHO-prequalified mosquito nets if possible (see costs below). Buy RDTs only if CHWs are trained/authorized locally; otherwise arrange referral slips to the clinic for testing/treatment. World Health OrganizationGiveWell

  3. Recruit & brief volunteers

    • Recruit 4–6 local volunteers (church leaders, teachers, youth). Pay a small stipend for the distribution day. Train them for 2–3 hours: how to hang nets, key malaria messages, how to register households, and when to refer febrile cases. Use the script below.

  4. Community mobilization

    • Announce via local radio, church/mosque, town criers, posters. Arrange a meeting place for the distribution/hang-up event.

  5. Distribution & hang-up day

    • Register households, give 1–2 nets per household (prioritize vulnerable members), demonstrate how to hang and repair nets, help hang nets in several homes (modeling increases use). If you have authorized RDTs and CHWs trained, test symptomatic people and refer positives to clinic — do NOT give antimalarial drugs unless you’re authorized and trained. BioMed Central

  6. Education & behavior change

    • Quick 10–15 minute group session: why net use nightly matters, how to dry/repair nets, remove standing water, and seek care for fever. Distribute a one-page leaflet (sample text below).

  7. Follow-up visit (7–14 days later)

    • Check 10–20 homes to confirm nets are hung and being used; collect simple monitoring data (see M&E below).

  8. Report back & link with clinic

    • Share your small dataset with the local clinic (how many nets, households, any referrals). This builds trust and opens doors for future support.

Shopping list

  • LLINs — 40 mosquito nets × $5 = $200
    (40 nets can protect ~70–80 people if shared; prioritize pregnant women & children under 5.) World Health Organization

  • RDTs (if authorized) — 20 × $1.50 = $30 (unit+minimal labor estimate). PMC

  • CHW / volunteer stipend & local transport = $40

  • Printing (leaflets/posters) + rope/nails for hanging nets = $10

  • Soap/repair kits / basic supplies = $20

Total = $300 (nets-heavy, prevention-first approach).
If you prefer education-heavy: buy fewer nets and spend more on training/transport (I can show that alternate split if you want).

Why these items?

  • Nets give the biggest bang for your buck in lowering cases/deaths. WHO & program evaluations back this. World Health Organization

  • RDTs let symptomatic people know whether to seek antimalarial treatment versus other care; RDTs are relatively inexpensive but require quality assurance and authorized use. PMC

  • Local volunteers & hang-up help are crucial — past campaigns show hands-on hang-up and demonstrations dramatically increase nightly use. BioMed Central

Safety / legal notes

  • Always coordinate with Ministry of Health / local clinic. Local rules vary about who can use RDTs or give antimalarial medicines. Don’t dispense medicines unless you’re authorized.

  • If someone looks severely ill (high fever, vomiting, confusion, difficulty breathing), refer immediately to the nearest clinic or call ambulance — severe malaria can be rapidly fatal.

  • Procure WHO-prequalified LLINs where possible; many untreated nets sold locally do not provide insecticidal protection. World Health Organization

Two quick scripts you can use

Community announcement (radio / town crier):
“Next Tuesday at 9am at the community hall: free mosquito nets for pregnant women and families with young children, plus a short demonstration on how to hang and care for them. If you have fever, come to the clinic for testing. Sponsored by [Your Group] in partnership with [Local Clinic].”

Five-minute teaching script (during distribution):

  1. “Malaria is spread by night-biting mosquitoes. Nets stop bites and the insecticide kills mosquitoes.”

  2. “Use your net every night — even during the hot season.”

  3. “If a child or pregnant woman has fever, go to the clinic — quick treatment saves lives.”

  4. “Here’s how we hang it — we’ll help you now.”

Leaflet headline sample: “Sleep safely: Use your net every night. Keep it repaired and dry. If fever, seek the clinic.”

Malaria Prevention Campaign is a Huge Success!

by Saliu Olumide Saheed

As planned, I went to the closest community health center and got two young and experienced health worker available. They were interested and decided to go help me intervene in the village. We went with the on-spot test strips for malaria, Drugs for children and adults, as well as edibles.

We went very early in the morning before Evey members of the villagers will go to farm, we arrived at their square and headed to the village head for permission. He granted it with joy and even brought chairs for us to sit and use for our service. At first we were just few and In some minutes, we were mobbed, there were crowds, children, women and even father who indulge every member of the community to get tested and treated according.

As expected there was almost a 98% incidence of malaria among the people and children we tested. They were all giving either anti malaria drugs, injection or both. It was not long until we exhausted our resources. The test kit went out first, followed by the drugs. Only the injections remained a little.

The people of Gada-ko are very happy as they readily welcomed us and cooperated. They deeply appreciate the donors and sponsors and they sincerely wish to see us again. I personally think it is better we work more in the villages, this is my first time working there, all my projects have been in Minna, I think we have impacted more life with this single project.

 Assignment: Write a 1-page essay that 1) describes your own familiarity to malaria - have you ever been sick from it? Have family members contracted it and died? 2) describe the value of malaria interventions, how can this save lives and prevent people from getting sick? 3) Using specifics, describe how you would organize a malaria intervention - how many people would you need? what supplies would you take? 4) Let us know if there is a region near you that needs a malaria intervention.