Eliminating malaria in places like sub-Saharan Africa involves more than just distributing bed nets.  According to a recent op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, cultural mindset is often the biggest thorn in the side of international agency partnerships that spend millions of dollars to get treated nets into the hands of impoverished sub-Saharan Africans.

A World Vision volunteer caregiver travels by bicycle, carrying bed nets, education … and hope.

Medical anthropologists have found that because malaria is so common in much of sub-Saharan Africa, and because the majority of cases go away on their own, many rural Africans consider malaria a minor ailment, as many Westerners might think of the flu.  Research also shows that many rural people also believe malaria is caused not just by mosquitoes but also by other factors such as eating mangoes or hard work.

The op-ed piece by Sonia Shah goes on to say that while we see treated nets as a lifesaving gift, many rural sub-Saharan people see them as a nuisance that provides only partial protection against a trivial illness.  Hence the stories and reports of people using their bed nets to catch fish or as wedding veils.

Recently, in Washington ,D.C, a group of aid workers, social scientists, and businesspeople active in various bed net distribution programs met to consider the bed net dilemma.  They found that education programs to support bed net distribution efforts, urging the rural poor to actually sleep under the nets they’ve been given, was the only effective way to address the issue.  Education.  An intervention that costs time and money that many organizations do not have to spare.

World Vision, serving in 62 countries affected by malaria — including 23 in sub-Saharan Africa — equips tens of thousands of indigenous volunteer caregivers and staff to fight malaria. These staff and volunteers are thoroughly trained in community and home interventions, including bed net distributions, education and training in installation, usage and maintenance of bed nets, as well as supplying antimalarial drugs.  We call them our “boots on the ground,” and in the fight to end malaria, they are one of our greatest assets.