Nonstop battle against malaria in the Islamic Republic of Iran
21 April 2024– Sudan stands out for its unique social fabric and complex malaria landscape. Despite the conflict that has raged for more than a year, as well as many political and economic challenges, Sudan continues to try to respond to malaria. Community engagement initiatives have proved crucial to this effort.
Gedaref state hosts close to 500 000 internally displaced people and bustles with volunteers and civil society organizations. Here, efforts by community members have been vital in navigating the chronic malaria burden and curbing other epidemics that have ensued since the conflict began in April 2023.
For nearly 2 decades, Abdalla Adam, a teacher and farmer from Om Bileil, a malaria-stricken village in Gedaref, has been at the forefront of community efforts to alleviate malaria. “Gedaref is synonymous with malaria,” said Abdalla. “We see other diseases too: kala-azar, polio, cholera and, more recently, dengue and chikungunya. But these come and go, while malaria has been here for as long as I can remember.”
World Malaria Report 2017