Women's groups net profits while fighting malaria
Fatimata Diara Coly, left, President of Allabatou Women's Group, speaks with group
members and visitors about the group's malaria prevention and income-generation
activities. Photo: M. Camara, USAID |
The women of Bignona in Senegal’s lush Ziguinchor region have been particularly
hard hit by malaria. They have suffered greatly because of this disease -- losing
children to it, nursing sick family members, spending scarce finances, and missing
out on work because of it.
That is why hundreds of small, community-based organizations have teamed up with
USAID to help prevent malaria. One way is to sleep under an insecticide-treated
bednet at night when malaria-laden mosquitoes are most active.
In Ziguinchor and other southern regions of Senegal, the community approach
to bednet promotion doubles as an income-generating activity. Senegalese communities
often have long-standing traditions of financial solidarity systems. Local women’s
associations (to which almost all rural women belong) set up revolving funds,
for example, in which each woman contributes a small amount every month. When
a member finds herself in need, she borrows from the fund.
Allabatou, a local women’s group, has taken advantage of this tradition
and brought bednets into the picture. USAID, through a grant to Africare, provides
bednets to the group at 3,500 FCFA (about $6) each. Each woman in the group then
buys nets on credit from the group at a cost of 3,750 FCA each and pays them off
over a five-month period. The group keeps the profit and uses some of it to support
community health volunteers working on malaria and other health issues. Experience
and input from community leaders have shown that systems like these make distribution
of nets more sustainable and the coverage greater than it would be if the nets
were given away free of charge.
“We, the members of Allabatou, know perfectly why malaria prevention
is important,” said Fatimata Diara Coly, president of Allabatou, one of
Bignona’s women’s groups fighting against malaria and other health
and socio-economic problems in their community. “Even if you stop funding,
we’ll continue to inform our community members and support the community
workers.”
Lessening the impact of malaria has far-reaching benefits for these communities.
Having fewer malaria cases to care for frees up women to find other ways to productively
use their time. The Allabatou group has begun a new small business unit to prepare
and sell dried mangoes, an activity which is expected to bring them annual revenue
of more than 150,000 FCFA (about $280). Mango processing, consisting of peeling,
cutting into small pieces, and drying, is labor-intensive and requires the participation
of all association members.
“We appreciate better than you the impact of this program,” said
group member Khady. “Let me tell you that before this program, every week,
three or five of us used to spend two or three days caring for our children or
husbands or other family members sick with malaria. Now, with this program, we’re
all here at work and everybody participates in the daily activities.”
Malaria is a major killer of children in Senegal and a leading cause of illness
among adults. USAID supports a comprehensive package of clinical services and
community interventions to prevent illness and death due to the disease.
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