Malaria, a disease spread by mosquitoes, infects about 300 million people a year and causes about 1 million deaths a year. Child
ren are most vulnerable to the disease, whereas most adults rebound fairly quickly. Many NGOs work to disseminate mosquito nets in sub-Saharan Africa in an effort to reduce the incidence of malaria, but results have been limited. Experts state that a different approach is needed to resolve this major health epidemic, including taking suggestions from the very people who are affected by the disease. Why is it important to include the people affected by malaria in developing ways to prevent the disease? What are some of the suggestions they might make?
High birth rates can be attributed to the limited use of birth control/family planning education. High death rates can be attributed to increased exposure to life-threatening diseases or diseases that could be curbed with medical intervention that is not available. As a result of poor healthcare, poor nutrition, and dangerous environments such as war zones, most people in underdeveloped nations live shorter lives than people in the developed world (although the developed world has developed its own health crises, such as obesity and sedentary lifestyles).
Rather than have a third party or an expert develop an outside solution, ideas from within the affected communities might best lead to a more expansive adoption of the habit. Public health officials could focus on educating mothers on the severity of the disease in child mortality, which might lead them to use the nets for their children’s protection. Collaboration among health experts and local people might produce a solution that would allow for prevention instead of the need for medical intervention.
The Ghana Empire grew rich from this increased trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt, allowing for larger urban centers to develop. When, in 1957, the Gold Coast became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain its independence from colonial rule, it renamed itself Ghana in honor of the long-gone empire.