Fighting Malaria amongst the Indigenous People of Amazonas State, Venezuela

Malaria is wide spread and on the rise throughout the Amazon basin. The region of Venezuela with the highest incidence of the disease per thousand people is Amazonas State, home to a mostly indigenous population. In recent years the Alto Ventuari region of the Amazon basin has experienced a deadly rise in the number of malaria infections. Both the Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum type of malaria are present. Up to 50% of the infections in the Alto Ventuari are caused by the P. falciparum organism, the most dangerous form of malaria. P.falciparum often leads to the rapid death of the victim.

How big a problem is malaria for the Indigenous people of Amazons?

The indigenous people of Amazonas are some of the poorest in the country and often live in physically isolated communities, far from medical services. Malaria can strike any person exposed to an infected mosquito, but it is children under 6 years old and pregnant women who are most likely to die of the disease. Indigenous populations are under tremendous pressure from poverty, illegal mining activities and the difficult environment in which they live. The plague of malaria threatens to destroy many of their communities. To ensure the survival of indigenous populations, along with their unique cultures and knowledge, it is of the utmost importance to reduce and ultimately eliminate the terrible scourge of malaria from their territory.

What we are doing

The objective of the project is to reduce the rate of malaria infection amongst the indigenous people, Ye’kuana and Sanema, who are the exclusive residents of the upper section of the Ventuari River – the Alto Ventuari – in Amazonas State, Venezuela. The project will distribute permithrin treated bed-nets called mosquiteros to every person in that territory, starting with children under 6 years old and pregnant women.

These mosquiteros are the best protection for the people against the spread of malaria and Chagas disease available today. These treated mosquiteros save lives. In a study carried out by Dr Magda Magris in an area just south of the Alto Ventuari with the Yanomana people (closely related to the Sanema of the Alto Ventuari) the use of treated mosquiteros reduced the rate of malaria by 60%.

More about this project on Dr Magda Magris website

Here are some links to Insect Sheild’s explanation of their treatment.

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