LifeNets Foundation Proposal

7/28/2019 LifeNets Foundation Proposal

1/11

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Cover page

2. Table of contents

3. Malaria

4. Malawi

5. Malaria prevention

6. 2012 Pilot study

7. 2012 Project Finances

8. Irrigation strategy

9. 5-Year agenda

10... Our partner


2/11

BUSINESS AGENDA

YEAR 2013


3/11

MALARIA

YEAR 2013

BACKGROUND

Malaria is a parasitic disease caused by Plasmodium

parasites that live within the Anopheles mosquito (a

malaria vector); this mosquitos bite injects the

parasite into humans to infect them. The Anopheles

mosquito is active primarily between dusk and

dawn. Initial symptoms are somewhat common and

may go unnoticed: a light fever, headache, chills and

some nausea. However, malaria soon progresses to

severe conditions such as cerebral bleeding, anemia,

renal failure, hypotension andeventually death.Those at greatest risk are young children who have

not yet developed a strong protective immunity,

pregnant women and those who are HIV/AIDS

positive.

Currently, there is no cure for this disease, but

according to the World Health Organization (WHO)

approximately halfof the worlds population is atrisk. 90% of all cases occur in Sub-Saharan Africa,

and 85% of cases are children under the age of 5. In

total, there were 247 million cases of malaria in

2008, but in just two years that number more than

doubled to approximately 500 million cases. Recentstudies reported by Lancet journal show that malaria

takes more than 1 million lives annually.

In addition to being very difficult to cure, control,

and prevent, malaria is heavily tied with poverty. In

a country like Malawi where most inhabitants rely

on agriculture for food and income, farmers and

many other able-bodied workers suffering from the

disease are unable to farm during the two month

rainy season, leaving their families with very little to

eat or sell for the year. These families grow weaker

and poorer, widening the gap between the rich and

the poor and making it that much more difficult to

escape poverty.

TREATMENT RESTRICTIONS

Not only are antimalarial drugs incredibly

expensive, but improper use gives rise to drug

resistant parasites. If the patient discontinues

treatment prematurely following the rapid clearance

of symptoms, the remaining parasites may form a

resistance. A second case of malaria may then be

untreatable, leading to the death of the patient and

the spread of the resistant parasite.

Recently, doctors have found that various

combinations of antimalarial drugs lower the risk of

producing resistant parasites. However, this form of

treatment is even more expensive and difficult to

manage than the use of a single drug. Due to these

complications, treatment cannot be the main

ammunition against malaria.

PREVENTION

Prevention is the most effective way to reduce the

population density of malaria vectors and is the only

intervention method that has been shown to decrease

malaria transmissions on a micro and possibly macro

level.

There are two main forms of prevention: long lasting

insecticide-treated mosquito nets (LLITNs) and

indoor residual sprays. Out of the two, LLITNs have

been proven more effective in decreasing severe

disease and death due to malaria in endemic regions.

The pros of LLITNs include their cost effectiveness,

sustainability, and ease of mass distribution. The

cons include their non-user-friendliness and the

difficulty of prevention education for recipients.

Many organizations distribute mosquito nets in

hopes of providing recipients with protection from

malaria. However, only a small percentage distribute

user friendly LLITNs, and even fewer provide their

recipients with education. As a result, a large

amount of distributed nets go to waste, unused or

misused.

LIFENETS FOUNDATION


4/11

BACKGROUND

The Republic of Malawi is aptly described as the warm heart ofAfrica after the warmth and beauty of its people and its land.Their beautiful Lake Malawi is the third largest in Africa, andthought the country is smalljust 118,500 kilometersMalawihas diverse topography and scenery.

Unfortunately, this beautiful country is also one of the poorest inthe world. 90% of the population lives below the poverty linewith an income less than $2 dollars a day. A major reason for this

poverty is the lack of rainfall on this densely populated country.85% of the population relies on agriculture for food and income.However, due to Malawis short (or in some years, nonexistent)rainy season and a progressive decrease in fertile soil, manycrops fail, leaving families with little food and no way to obtainincome.

Destructive diseases like malaria contribute to the spread ofpoverty by depleting families and the governments resources;the annual cost of malaria for a household is over a monthswages. The annual amount the government spends on the diseaseis millions.

MALAWI

LIFENETS FOUNDATION YEAR 2013


5/11

LIFENETS FOUNDATION

MALAWI AND MALARIA

PREVENTION

PROBLEMS REGARDING NETS

In Malawi, most organizations focused on

combatting malaria by distributing mosquito nets.

Ideally, recipients of these nets should sleep under

these nets every night to protect themselves from

malaria. However, many nets are wasted because

recipients are demotivated to use them, we heard

back from recipients a few issues:

1) How uncomfortable the nets are

2) Certain culturally- or socially-derived

misconceptions about nets

3) Lack of education about nets

Many of the nets distributed are quite large and must

be connected by four corners. However, this net set-

up is an issue, because most homes cannot

accommodate a four-corner setup on their ceiling.

Most living quarters are small, one-room homes and

are used for other purposes during the day, so setting

up and taking down the net becomes a huge hassle.Consequently, the nets go unused.

In many villages, pervading myths about the nets

discourage recipients to use them. For example,

some villagers claim the nets prevent pregnancy and

others say nets trap evil spirits. From these

misconceptions arises a tendency to discard or

misuse the nets.

OUR APPROACH

At the root of our distribution program is thequality of our nets. We chose nets with a conical-shaped structure, making them extremely user-friendly with only one corner of attachment. Thematerial comprising the nets is polyethylene,improving their durability and reducing the extentto which they trap heat. Furthermore, our nets are

non-irritable, as the insecticide is infused in the netfibers.

Our distribution program is aimed at educating andmotivating recipients to use the nets. This way wecan maximize efficiency and ensure our supportersof the significance of their contributions.

Below is a diagram of the four main stages in

our approach to the distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets.



6/11

2012 DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM

PILOT STUDY

DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM

During the summer of 2012, our pilot program was

devoted to finding answers to both of our biggest

questions: 1) whether villagers in Malawi found

conical insecticide-treated mosquito nets more user-

friendly than square ones, and 2) whether education

gave recipients the motivation to use nets. In total,

we distributed 599 conical nets amongst the villagegroups of Namangwe and Kangwanda, Malawi.

Namangwe served as the control village group in

which we employed the distribution strategy of a

typical NGO (little to no education). Kangwanda

served as the experimental village group. Nets were

distributed according to our individualized,

education-based approach. Namangwe is divided

into 20 villages, and Kangwanda is divided into 38.

Approximately 10 nets were distributed to each

village. One week after distribution, follow-ups

were conducted with each village group.

Of the 599 nets distributed, follow-up data was

collected from 467 net recipients: 151 from

Namangwe and 316 from Kangwanda. We found a

usage rate of 72.2% in Namangwe and a usage rate

of 99.4% in Kangwanda. This difference between

the villages is highly significant with a p-value of


7/11

Mosquito Nets purchased from PSI

One million and four hundred forty thousand kwachas(1,440,000 MK)

(5142.85 dollars)600 nets

Three hundred and sixty thousand kwachas (360,000MK)

(1285.71 dollars)150 nets

Total: 6428.56 dollars

Living expenses Dae Yang Luke Hospital

05/26/2012 to 06/21/2012

Total: 1890 dollars

Food cost

05/25/2012 to 06/21/2012

Total: $1545.13

Transportation and fuel costs

Total: 3034.33 dollars

Total spent on Project: $12,898.02

PROJECT FINANCES 2012



8/11

IRRIGATION STRATEGY

LONG-TERM APPROACH

Distributing LLITNs must only be seen as a short-term strategy to fighting malaria. Althougheffective, the 5-year lifespan of these netsnecessitate increasing costs as more of Malawi iscovered. To fully eradicate malaria from Malawionly through distribution of nets, millions wouldhave to be delivered and used within this 5-yearperiod. The effective manpower required for such a

large-scale effort is infeasible and highly expensive.To truly eradicate malaria from Africa, a long-termstrategy aimed at targeting the root of the diseasemust be implemented.

Our proposed long-term strategy of a countrywideirrigation system aims at improving thesocioeconomic status of the Malawian people. Bycreating small irrigation systems emanating from anunderground water source, we intend to prolongMalawis agriculture season beyond the currentlength of zero to four months. Furthermore, to

increase the amount of fertile soil available, we planto teach farmers how to create compost from sugarcane and corn scraps. The central goal behind ayearlong agriculture season and improved soil is topromote improved health and higher income,resulting in decreased incidence of malaria and otherdevastating diseases.



9/11

5-YEAR AGENDA



10/11

URUNJI CHILD-CARE TRUST

Urunji Child-Care Trust is a registered Non-Governmental Organization in Malawi.

Their mission is to bring innovative solutions to the communities that will combat

poverty, malaria, malnutrition, environmental degradation and HIV/AIDS through

education, economic empowerment, community participation, life-skills training and

global connections.

As an organization, they envision a nation where children with quality education,proper nutrition, sound health and life-skills are a reality. We believe there is no

Vision without Provision. This is why we are working together with the communities

to ensure little dreams turn into great achievements in the near and distant future.

OUR PARTNER



11/11

LIFENETS FOUNDATION

LifeNets Foundation Proposal

Documents

Transcript of LifeNets Foundation Proposal