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Let’s prevent malaria rather than cure it!

Let’s prevent malaria rather than cure it!

In this "Picture of the Day" shows you three children from Kabanda Village in East Sumba (read this post here), where the PMC program is in place. In this village, very far from everything, especially health centres, malaria is very active and wreaking havoc. We are talking about 80% of children under 12 are affected. It is, therefore, essential to prevent and train families. This is what we are doing here.

The daily observations concerning the causes of malaria are multiple here. These include, in particular, the lack of access to health care, information on prevention methods, the unavailability of health centres and sanitation, and the growing resistance to antimalarial drugs for regions with access to these treatments.

A reminder for all Kawans: Malaria is transmitted by female mosquitoes of the "Genus Anopheles", throughout the East Sumba region. These mosquitoes breed in standing water, such as rainwater storage tanks and open water sources, most of the time in rural and deprived areas of East Sumba.

As Fair Future has repeatedly seen and repeated for years, the consequences of malaria are serious if nothing is done to treat it: High fever, severe headache, nausea and vomiting. If not treated quickly, the disease can progress and lead to severe complications, including kidney failure, anaemia, seizures and death.

It is essential to train families and rural communities to protect themselves from this disease to reduce its transmission. Also, by learning how to prevent and treat Malaria, rural families and communities will reduce the economic and social burden of the disease. Malaria entails high costs for families and communities, particularly medical expenses (if they can access them), school absenteeism, and reduced productivity.

As we apply it with the Primary Medical Care Program (PMC), training families and rural communities to protect themselves from malaria contributes to strengthening the resilience of these populations in the face of epidemics of infectious diseases such as HIV, Tuberculosis, Gastroenteritis, cholera etc… 

Alexandre Wettstein from the Foundation’s Medico-Social Camp in East Sumba, Rumah Kambera, Lambanapu, on the 2nd of May 2023

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Reduce health risks with clean water for families

Reduce health risks with clean water for families

In this "Picture of the Day" shows you what children do several times a day: Fetch water for the family with some 5-litre jerrycans. Most of the time, the young girls take care of this. Here in this photo, it is a young child of ten years. There are no daughters in the family. He does this job instead of going to school. He and his family have only two litres or less of water a day for eating, drinking, bathing and everything else.

Unfortunately, like here in Tana Mbanas (Sumba Tenggah), there is still a vast majority of villages in Sumba that do not have access to clean drinking water. In these villages, the inhabitants often depend on surface water sources such as rivers, lakes or ponds, which bacteria, viruses, chemicals or by animals and insects mostly contaminate. 

The lack of clean water has severe consequences for the health of the inhabitants. Waterborne diseases, such as diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid, hepatitis A, Malaria and Dengue fever, are common where access to clean water and toilets is limited or absent. These diseases can be severe and even fatal, especially in children, pregnant women and the elderly.

To help villages without clean water in Sumba, Fair Future and Kawan Baik are implementing effective measures to improve access to clean and healthy water. Our solutions include drilling deep wells with our equipment, construction of water treatment plants, storage tanks, rainwater harvesting and storage, and installation of water management systems—irrigation and construction of healthy sanitation facilities.

We are still seeking funding and technical resources to set up sustainable, safe and clean water infrastructure in this region, one of the world's poorest and most dry.

Alexandre Wettstein from the Foundation’s Medico-Social Camp in East Sumba, Rumah Kambera, Lambanapu, on Mai 1st, 2023.

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Medical care for children affected by Malaria

Medical care for children affected by Malaria

In this "Picture of the Day", Fair Future and Kawan Baik medical teams provide medical care to a child most likely affected by Malaria. He is less than two years old and has a fever of 40.6. Her symptoms fit this diagnosis of Malaria. We give him appropriate primary medical care to reduce his fever as quickly as possible. Then he will go for treatment tomorrow at the nearest health centre, more than three hours from the village.

Malaria is a severe public health problem, especially in the ultra-rural and impoverished areas where Fair Future and Kawan Baik Foundations work so hard. Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Children under five and pregnant women are also particularly vulnerable to Malaria, as their immune systems are less developed and may have more difficulty fighting infection. People suffering from chronic illnesses are also vulnerable (HIV, Hepatitis, malnutrition, etc.)

Ultra-rural and poor areas such as East Sumba are particularly vulnerable to the spread of Malaria due to factors such as lack of water or contaminated water, deplorable housing conditions, lack of access to healthcare health and preventive measures, inadequate sanitation… Moreover, here we do not have antimalarial drugs nor rapid tests to detect the disease. This makes our treatment and prevention work very difficult.

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PMC program evaluation in Lapinu

PMC program evaluation in Lapinu

These women linked to the PMC program devote part of their lives to saving others. These unsung heroines work tirelessly to keep people from the danger of illness and injury. They put their lives on the line to ensure others can live to see another day. Teachers trained in primary medical care, these women are the backbone of these ultra-rural communities in East Sumba. They exemplify true bravery and selflessness, and we are eternally grateful for their service. Therefore, we express our deep gratitude to all women who save lives. Thanks for what you’re doing for the others.

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PMC program evaluation in Kabanda

PMC program evaluation in Kabanda

Kabanda is genuinely one of the most isolated I have ever seen. Getting it is difficult, even dangerous, at times. No road leads to this village; only extremely steep or steep stony paths allow us to go there. It took us over six hours to get there, including four hours of absolute terrain with the Truck of Life, a 4×4 medical truck specially designed for this journey. Kabanda is no exception; so many villages are in the same situation: That is to say, they have no road leading there. This raises – among other things – the question of access to health care, of course. And it is for these types of communities that Fair Future exists, and together with our friends from Kawan Baik, Sumba Volunteer and Charis Foundation, we have created this primary medical care program.

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Check blood pressure in rural areas

Check blood pressure in rural areas

Here in the ultra-rural and poor areas where Fair Future Foundation and Kawan Baik Indonesia work, populations tend to have a higher prevalence of high blood pressure than in urban and wealthier areas. This is mainly due to poor diet, excessive tobacco consumption, and poor hydration. Of course, poverty and limited access to resources will also contribute to higher stress levels, increasing blood pressure. An unhealthy lifestyle increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and other health problems. We teach some “Kawan Sehat” health workers participating in the primary medical care program to measure blood pressure and take the necessary measures.

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Check Blood Pressure as part of the PMC program

Check Blood Pressure as part of the PMC program

This new "Picture of the Day" shows you Mama Katerina, from the village of Lapinu, who is learning to take blood pressure with Dr Aldo. She knows what a systole is or a diastole is and from when and under what conditions there is hyper or hypotension. She will also learn to give appropriate medical treatment (Captopril) for high blood pressure.

As part of the Primary Medical Care program, Katerina and eight other "Kawan Sehat" health workers participate in this unique pilot experience. These women teachers can measure a patient's blood pressure and give appropriate medical treatment in case of hypertension.

It is a social and medical revolution, in our opinion. The fight and prevention of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases are essential here in the ultra-rural regions of eastern Indonesia. To be active and efficient, our medical teams provide knowledge and equipment (manual blood pressure measuring device, stethoscope) in each pilot village. They are five out of the thirty-five in which the PMC project is implemented.

This, for example, has led us to talk about active and passive smoking. To make it clear, tobacco is dangerous for your health, and it is also the cause of high blood pressure and, consequently, strokes, heart attacks, respiratory problems and a host of other related diseases at the cigarette shop.

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PMC program evaluation in Mbatapuhu

PMC program evaluation in Mbatapuhu

Non-professionals who give medical care and medicine to people, sick children, and injured. They do so through a unique and innovative medical care program. Because here, there are no doctors, no health centre, or else too far away. No one has a vehicle, and the roads that lead to these villages are often impassable. This program saves and preserves the lives of children as well as adults. Today, we are in Mbatapuhu.

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PMC – Teachers receive their training certificate

PMC – Teachers receive their training certificate

This new "Picture of the Day" shows three real heroes and three incredible women, Merlin, Siyane and Sarlota. In the ultra-rural and isolated village of Kabanda, the three participants and teachers in the primary medical care program received their first work and training certificate. 

This follows the teaching they received from the foundation's teams in December 2022. Complete medical training based on fifteen modules, which explain and demonstrate how to care for a sick or injured patient (adult or child ). This is in villages where no health centre, doctor, or health professional is present, available or accessible, and most of the time, like here in this village, where no road leads.

You must understand the situation, friends: These women come from Asia's most rural regions and perhaps even the world. Most have not been to school or received basic compulsory training. They were trained for three months in teaching in the ultra-rural areas by a partner association called Charis Sumba.

So you have to imagine their pride to have succeeded in becoming one of these health workers, the person in the village responsible for providing first aid in an emergency, the possibility of illness in the event of an injury, an adult or a child. So when they received this certificate, tears flowed. Their tears flowed ours too, and it was a moment of incredible strength, but above all, very emotional.

In principle, here, and related to local culture and traditions, a woman takes care of household chores, fetching water, cooking for the children, and caring for the family. These three female superheroes are not only teachers within the framework of Charis Sumba, but they are also now – and for more than four months – the health workers of the PMC program. They are the ones who can save a life in the absence of a medical centre, medical care or a doctor in the village. This is not anything in terms of enhancing the role of women in ultra-rural villages; this is immense and important progress.

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Evaluation of 8 Kawan Sehat agents, in Mbinudita

Evaluation of 8 Kawan Sehat agents, in Mbinudita

In the village where it all started for us: The #rebuildmbinudita program is the construction of a school, and the construction of a drinking water network for more than 2700 people, 60% of whom are children under 12 years old . It is really the (re)construction of an entire village or learning to live healthier, healthier all together, within the framework of the creation of innovative programs. Access to primary medical care is part of this program here in Mbinudita and it is only natural that we have included it in this Care program.

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PMC program pre-assessment in Mbinudita

PMC program pre-assessment in Mbinudita

Fair Future teams examine and investigate more than two hundred cases of various illnesses or injuries treated under the primary medical care program by health workers. We also take stock of what will happen next week to accurately assess the supply of new equipment, drugs and medical devices. We also tell them that three will be part of a “test” screening program for high blood pressure and, in this case, the “prescription” of treatment and an appropriate medical procedure.

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What does a kitchen look like without food or water

What does a kitchen look like without food or water

This new "Picture of the Day" shows you what the kitchen of an East Sumba family is like. A kitchen like there are tens of thousands here. One of the elements we always see is the presence of five-litre jerry cans. They are the ones that serve as a container for the water that the girls and women have to fetch from afar. We also notice the absence of food, including no rice, only corn. Rice is expensive, and nobody can buy it here in Laindatang, East Sumba: No electricity, running water, and sink.

Just a hearth that will be used once a day only to prepare corn porridge mixed with vegetables and roots that the women have been looking for in the forest. Salt and red peppers. That will be all for the day and the whole family, including dogs and cats.

Families here live without clean or potable water, yet access to potable water is crucial for survival and maintaining good health. Without clean water, families in the areas where Fair Future and Kawan Baik work are forced to drink contaminated water, which leads to waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever and dysentery.

This has an immense impact on daily life and livelihoods. Women and children must walk long distances to fetch water, which takes up much time and interferes with other activities such as work or education.

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