Since October 2007 Yayasan Usaha Mulia (YUM) is implementing a Malaria control programme in the subdistrict of Bukit Batu in Central Kalimantan. The 6 villages – one of them Tangkiling – that have been targeted for this programme, are situated along or close to the Central Kalimantan Highway, also called Jalan Tjilik Riwut, after the famous Dayak freedom fighter against the Dutch.
In Bukit Batu, Malaria is endemic, which means that people are at constant risk of catching the disease. Fortunately it is the mild form (Plasmodium Vivax) that prevails. Although the effects of repeated attacks of P. Vivax through childhood and adult life are only rarely directly lethal, they can have major deleterious effects on personal well-being, growth, and development, and on the economic performance at the individual, family, community and national levels. A study done before the start of the Malaria programme showed that Malaria was seen as problem No. 1 by the inhabitants of Bukit Batu
With this situation in mind, SD-Germany who have for many years cooperated with YUM for various projects in Indonesia, applied to the Federal German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for funding a programme that would reduce morbidity and mortality of Malaria by 50% and educate the population to understand the disease better and to take their own precautions. This was in 2005.
In 2007 the programme was finally accepted and funding granted by BMZ. The total cost amounted at the time to 250.000 Euro. 75% to be covered by the BMZ grant and 25% to be raised by SD-Germany and YUM.
The Malaria control programme consists of several parts:
a) Diagnosis and treatment (with either traditional medicine or an ACT-combination therapy which combines Artemisia Annua and traditional medicine)
b) Precautionary measures like the use of impregnated bed-nets, inside residual spraying and vector control.
c) Provision of clean drinking water in Banturung and at two locations in Tangkiling.
d) Sensibilisation to stop open defecation in fields and rivers and to encourage the building of individual pit latrines
All these programmes have been running well and with good results. These results have been verified in an external evaluation which took place in March 2009 – endemicity at this time was already almost down to zero. SDG and YUM see this as a result of the regular precautionary measures and of a better awareness and increased knowledge about the disease on the part of the project participants.
SDG and YUM are especially happy that it has been possible in close cooperation with BMZ to incorporate the very newest perceptions of what is good practice in development cooperation. To name the most significant ones:
Latrines: A programme has been developed in Bangladesh, called Community Led Total Sanitation, a sensibilisation concept which has been successfully applied in many countries. It makes people understand in phases the consequences of open defecation for their own health and the environment and to raise the wish in them to have their own latrines and to be willing to build these latrines and to pay for the materials without any further NGO-assistance. Billions of Dollars have been wasted in the past for the construction of latrines that people did not use afterwards because they had not been sensitized properly beforehand. In Bukit Batu we are looking forward to celebrating the first ODF-village later this year (ODF: Open Defecation Free) with a big splash.
Clean Water: In the villages where YUM is providing clean drinking water, the first step is to reach an agreement with the target population: People have to agree that they are willing to pay for the water they use and to contribute towards administration. Administration, maintenance and repair as well as the collection of water money is done by a community led management group. This group is working on a voluntary basis and is selected by the community. The money they collect from end-users is held in a bank and serves to maintain and repair the installation that consists of a well deep enough to provide water also in the dry season and of a tower from which the pipes go to each of the households that have signed up. Pipes end in a water meter that records the individual use of water.
We have recently successfully applied to BMZ to prolong the project which was to end on December 31st this year, until end of June 2011 and to increase the project volume to 310.000 Euros. This was necessary because of increased costs in several areas – personnel costs, equipment, latrine-sensibilisation etc. The sensibilisation could not take place in 2009 due to the fires from August to October and the ensuing heavy rains. It has now been done at the end of June 2010, so we hope that everyone is busy at building latrines and preparing for Habaring Hurung to become the first O D F in Central Kalimantan.
Cheers to that.
Renee Zimmer
August 10, 2010
YUM is proud to announce that through the hard work and patience of YUM’s Kalimantan team for over 4 years, combined with the positive relationship and support provided by the local government and community, YUM has successfully eradicated Malaria from the Bukit Batu sub-district, Central Kalimantan! This was made possible thanks to the generous funding we received from Susila Dharma Germany and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany.
YUM’s successful Malaria Control project has drawn much attention and respect by the local government and many organizations, including the Global Fund, who has recently approached YUM and requested a meeting to understand YUM’s approach and method adopted by the project, as the Global Fund is starting a Malaria project in 8 areas across Central Kalimantan.
YUM’s Malaria Control project started in early 2008 as Malaria was an endemic in Central Kalimantan. Its land, composing of peat swamps and bushes provided the ideal breeding sites for malaria mosquitoes. By adopting a holistic approach to combating Malaria, YUM’s Malaria Control project became a powerful and effective tool to solving this problem. Not only did YUM provide treatment and distributed impregnated bed nets as commonly practiced, YUM also made it a priority to educate the community on the actual issue at hand and how it is prevented.
Furthermore, through training and capacity building, YUM has managed to train 16 Malaria cadres – local community advocates known as ‘Posmaldes’. With their assistance, YUM was able to conduct further Malaria Control initiatives including Vector Control activities such as Larvaciding – placing larvacide in potential breeding grounds of the mosquitoes and Spraying – spraying every house.
In March 2011, YUM will hold a seminar where it will formally announce that its Malaria Control project has achieved excellent results, making the Bukit Batu sub-district a “Malaria Free” area. Inviting all related stakeholders, including: local government institutions, related organizations, YUM Malaria Cadres and other community members, YUM will also take this opportunity to conduct a handover of the project to the local government for them to continue to run and maintain. Now that the Bukit Batu sub-district is announced as a “Malaria Free” area, the local government’s sole responsibility will be to continue to monitor the area for possible threats of outbreak.
