CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Malaria kills a child somewhere in the world every minute. It infects approximately 219 million people each year (range 154 – 289 million), with an estimated 660,00 deaths, mostly children in Africa. Ninety percent of malaria deaths occur in Africa, where malaria accounts for about one in six of all childhood deaths. The disease also contributes greatly to anaemia among children — a major cause of poor growth and development.
Malaria infection during pregnancy is associated with severe anaemia and other illness in the mother and contributes to low birth weight among newborn infants one of the leading risk factors for infant mortality and sub-optimal growth and development.
Malaria has serious economic impacts in Africa, slowing economic growth and development and perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty. Malaria is truly a disease of poverty afflicting primarily the poor who tend to live in malaria-prone rural areas in poorly-constructed dwellings that offer few, if any, barriers against mosquitoes.
Malaria is both preventable and treatable, and effective preventive and curative tools have been developed.
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by protists (a type of microorganism) of the genus Plasmodium. It begins with a bite from an infected female Anopheles mosquito, which introduces the protists through saliva into the circulatory system.
In the blood, the protists travel to the liver to mature and reproduce. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever and headache, which in severe cases can progress to coma or death. The disease is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions in a broad band around the equator, including much of Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
Five species of Plasmodium can infect and be transmitted by humans. The vast majority of deaths are caused by P. falciparum and P. vivax, while P. ovale, and P. malariae cause a generally milder form of malaria that is rarely fatal. The zoonotic species P. knowlesi, prevalent in Southeast Asia, causes malaria in macaques but can also cause severe infections in humans.
It should be recalled that one of the recent effort is the provision Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLINs) which the campaign was done on various media to include social media, however, the research want to examine the role of radio and interpersonal communication in the eradication of malaria in Osun state.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Former Minister of Health, Professor Babatunde Oshotiemeyin once said that “malaria is diverstating families, made poor; poorer and costs the nation about 140 billion naira annually”. It hampers children’s schooling and social development in general.
It is against this background the researcher is willing to examine the role of radio and interpersonal communication in the eradication of malaria in Osun state.
Expose students and educate them on dangers and prevention of malaria using radio and interpersonal communication media.