Remarks by Ramatoulaye Dioume, USAID/Senegal health program, at the second round of indoor residual spraying launch ceremony in the District of Richard Toll

Rosso, March 3, 2008

It is for me a great pleasure to represent USAID at the launch of the second round of indoor residual spraying.  We are not strangers, as we were here in June and July last year to spray the walls of many of your homes ahead of the last rainy season.

Today, with your local health authorities and the sprayers trained by USAID that you see around you, we will help you get ready for the second malaria season.

This assistance is provided to your communities from the American people, in particular, through the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative.

Thank you very much for your willingness last time to take your belongings out of your house early in the morning to allow the sprayers the chance to spray your walls with insecticide.

As you remember, you need to stay out of your homes for at least two hours after the spraying has been completed.

For this treatment to work well, it is very important that everyone take part. Please help yourself and your neighbors by joining in this campaign again. Talk to your friends around the district and let them know that collectively, you can kill thousands of mosquitoes that carry malaria, if they land on the walls of your homes.

The other important thing to do is to use your mosquito net every night, even when you think it is not necessary. Sleeping under your net year round will help drive away mosquitoes; it will also help you have a more peaceful night’s rest knowing that your bednet is, quite literally, watching out over you.

Indoor spraying and mosquito nets are just two of the many ways USAID and PMI helps you to beat back malaria.

You should also know that USAID’s partners will soon train the community health workers serving in the five health huts right here in Rosso on how to treat malaria. These are a few of the 3,000 heath workers throughout Senegal who are being trained to provide this life-saving care, close to the homes of everyone.

We hope you will continue to work as partners with the Ministry of Health and USAID to extend the good results we have seen so far and save many more lives and productive hours of work lost to malaria.

Thank you for your cooperation and engagement.