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- A woman holds her child outside the Mwiruzi health center in Burundi.
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- Two women walk from their homes to the central market in the Cankuzo province of Burundi.
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- Two children watch the malaria message and performance competition in the Cankuzo province of Burundi. They learn about ways to prevent malaria, the signs and symptoms of the disease and how to treat it.
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- A woman sings and dances during a performance and malaria message competition. In Burundi, this is a fun way to educate communities. During the competition, teams from three neighboring villages came together to share the songs, performances and dramas that they use to educate people about malaria prevention and control.
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- The ELCA Malaria Campaign is working with The Lutheran World Federation in Burundi, training leaders like Pastor John in the province of Cankuzo, who in turn helps the members of his congregation. “I now have training in ways of fighting malaria, which is a very serious illness since 60 percent of people here suffer from malaria,” said Pastor John.
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- People gather in the lobby of the Mwiruzi health center in Burundi.
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- Bahiga Euphrasie says, “Once we received training and instruction related to malaria, we could recognize malaria symptoms on a child or adult. When [my child] got sick, I took her to the health center. They examined her and found it [malaria]. Thanks to the training we received, we know the kind of symptoms we should look for.”
Although malaria is preventable and treatable, every year more than 200 million people worldwide become infected with the disease and more than 600,000 people die, many of these children under 5. Through the ELCA Malaria Campaign, ELCA congregations have joined with companion Lutheran churches and partners in 13 African countries to prevent and treat malaria, educate communities about the disease and more. Here’s an illustration of how this church is partnering with Lutherans in Burundi.
