End Malaria in Children of Rural communities, Kano

Dear Supporters, Friends and Family of Serendipity Healthcare Foundation,

At every step we take, with your generous support we are fighting the war to reduce the rate of malaria deaths in Northern Nigeria. However, with recent report released on the new cases of malaria and in particular Yellow Fever is a great cause for concern here in Nigeria.

There is a recent outbreak of Yellow Fever which is caused by a virus (Flavivirus) which is transmitted to humans by the bites of infected aedes and heamogogus mosquitoes. The mosquitoes either breed around houses (domestic), in forests or jungles (wild) or in both habitats (semi-domestic).

The Nigeria's Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reports that there are over 1604 suspected cases with 41 confirmed cases recorded in 14 states of Nigeria; Kwara, Kogi, Kano, Zamfara, Kebbi, Nassarawa, Niger, Katsina, Ekiti, Anambra, FCT and Benue. The "Yellow" in its name stems from the yellow colouration of the eyes of the infected persons. The signs and symptoms are in two phrases and usually difficult to diagnose especially in the first stages and can be confused with severe malaria or other Flaviviruses.

We at Serendipity came up with a month campaign of "End Malaria Now" to prevent the spread of this "yellow fever through intensifying our efforts in the distribution of Insecticide Treated Nets and Awareness to keep the community household drains clean, using chemical free insecticides and covering water containers and holes.

Our first campaign has started in Amarzakawa in Ungogo Local Government Council in Kano where we distributed Insecticide Treated Nets to children and also taught them the importance of sleeping under these nets, helping their mothers in keeping the surroundings clean and free from stagnant water.

There is so much we can do for our rural communities and with your continued support we can do so much more. We also want to thank you for the confidence reposed in us in being the focal point between our communities and your goodselves.

You can send us an email for further clarification on serenhealthcare@gmail.com, follow us on twitter @serendipityHea1, like our facebook page/serenhealthcare and LinkedIn.com/serendipity-healthcare-foundation.

Thank you,

Samirah Faruk

Project Leader

Links:

• Yellow Fever outbreak
• Yellow Fever spreads
• Curbing Yellow Fever before it happens