Bad Air
-Bed Net in a Private Room-By the time we saw him, I don’t know that little Freddie had much of a chance.
Not more than a year old – if that even. His eyes were rolling up into his head, his tiny body wracked by fever and chills. The IV drip was attached directly to this little boy’s head. His mother lying alongside, cradling and comforting her child.The diagnosis? Malaria.
As care givers, both medically and pastorally, we did what we could.
The nurses attending Freddie provided medical & chemical dawa while the Chaplain and I provided spiritual equivalent: “Nashukuru . . . We give you thanks Lord. We request/plead/beg/pray [the verb kuomba] that you will battle the sickness in this child. Battle this sickness with medicine, with doctors and nurses, and with your Holy Spirit.”
After two days in the hospital, Freddie’s battle was over. He joined the estimated 3,000 children in Africa who die each day of ‘Bad Air.’ [The name Malaria, it has been said, comes from the Italian phrase mal’aria or ‘bad air,’ reflecting early conceptions about the causes of the disease]
Not more than a year old – if that even. His eyes were rolling up into his head, his tiny body wracked by fever and chills. The IV drip was attached directly to this little boy’s head. His mother lying alongside, cradling and comforting her child.The diagnosis? Malaria.
As care givers, both medically and pastorally, we did what we could.
The nurses attending Freddie provided medical & chemical dawa while the Chaplain and I provided spiritual equivalent: “Nashukuru . . . We give you thanks Lord. We request/plead/beg/pray [the verb kuomba] that you will battle the sickness in this child. Battle this sickness with medicine, with doctors and nurses, and with your Holy Spirit.”
After two days in the hospital, Freddie’s battle was over. He joined the estimated 3,000 children in Africa who die each day of ‘Bad Air.’ [The name Malaria, it has been said, comes from the Italian phrase mal’aria or ‘bad air,’ reflecting early conceptions about the causes of the disease]
At Ilula, Malaria has the illustrious honor of being the #1 Most Frequently Reported Disease for each of the last 4 of months.
While the number of new cases is likely to decline for the few months, due in large part to the coming of the dry season, it will still remain . . . buzzing around just out of reach, like the pesky mosquitoes that carry it.
What I find troubling is that this is a disease that, more or less, can be prevented and managed with known techniques and technologies. In terms of media coverage and research support, however, it has largely been overshadowed by the specter known as HIV/AIDS.
Not being an expert in the field, I’m not sure why that is. [Though the inner-cynic in me wonders if it might be due to the fact that Malaria is a ‘3rd World’ disease that has been more or less eradicated in Europe and North America. HIV/AIDS, on the other hand, continues to strike close to home for donor countries, foundations, and individuals.]
Whatever the cause may be, my request/ plead/ prayer is that patients like Freddie would receive the same [or even a fraction of] the resources and research that those dealing with HIV/AIDS receive just a stone’s throw away from the pediatric ward in which he spent his final hours.
Fortunately, the tide is turning - a bit.
Malaria is beginning to get the attention it deserves once again. National Geographic, in its July 2007 issue, has an article that I found eye-opening, well-written, and highly informative. Organizations like Lutheran World Relief and the Gates Foundation are now engaged in an intensive effort to combat this disease worldwide.
The results are just now being felt on the local level; throughout the region and here at the hospital, educational programs are expanding, mosquito nets are being dispersed at low or no cost, and medications are being provided to young or expecting mothers and their children.
If you don’t know much about Malaria, take a few moments to get informed.
If you are so moved, find a way to get involved.
For people like those at Ilula, this renewed emphasis, the subsequent initiatives, and support and concern from people like you, come as habari njema indeed.
While the number of new cases is likely to decline for the few months, due in large part to the coming of the dry season, it will still remain . . . buzzing around just out of reach, like the pesky mosquitoes that carry it.
What I find troubling is that this is a disease that, more or less, can be prevented and managed with known techniques and technologies. In terms of media coverage and research support, however, it has largely been overshadowed by the specter known as HIV/AIDS.
Not being an expert in the field, I’m not sure why that is. [Though the inner-cynic in me wonders if it might be due to the fact that Malaria is a ‘3rd World’ disease that has been more or less eradicated in Europe and North America. HIV/AIDS, on the other hand, continues to strike close to home for donor countries, foundations, and individuals.]
Whatever the cause may be, my request/ plead/ prayer is that patients like Freddie would receive the same [or even a fraction of] the resources and research that those dealing with HIV/AIDS receive just a stone’s throw away from the pediatric ward in which he spent his final hours.
Fortunately, the tide is turning - a bit.
Malaria is beginning to get the attention it deserves once again. National Geographic, in its July 2007 issue, has an article that I found eye-opening, well-written, and highly informative. Organizations like Lutheran World Relief and the Gates Foundation are now engaged in an intensive effort to combat this disease worldwide.
The results are just now being felt on the local level; throughout the region and here at the hospital, educational programs are expanding, mosquito nets are being dispersed at low or no cost, and medications are being provided to young or expecting mothers and their children.
If you don’t know much about Malaria, take a few moments to get informed.
If you are so moved, find a way to get involved.
For people like those at Ilula, this renewed emphasis, the subsequent initiatives, and support and concern from people like you, come as habari njema indeed.
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