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Welcome to Rwanda's Stomping Out Malaria in Africa Group. Check here for resources to help volunteers improve malaria work in Rwanda.

Stomping Out Malaria in Africa is an Africa-wide Peace Corps initiative aimed at significantly supporting the international effort to eliminate malaria from Africa. Now, 3,000 volunteers (6,000 stomps strong!) in 20 Peace Corps programs across Africa are exchanging ideas and working together in the name of malaria eradication.

The goals of this unique Peace Corps initiative are to:

Reduce malaria where we work: i.e. Universal bed net coverage, malaria prevention and treatment education programs in all Peace Corps Volunteer communities in Africa by 2013.

Contribute to reduction of malaria in target countries: through work with partner organizations and host country initiatives we will achieve the Millennium Challenge goals of reducing deaths caused by malaria globally (by 50% or more), and substantially reducing deaths caused by malaria in all 22 African countries we work in by 2020.

Help build an online community of malaria prevention workers: i.e. promote documentation and sharing of malaria prevention practices between posts across the continent and internationally between the initiative’s partners.

To achieve these goals, Peace Corps is recruiting Peace Corps Response and 3^rd year volunteers in every African country to be Malaria Volunteers focused tightly on malaria prevention and working with designated staff Malaria Focal Points liaising with partner organizations and supporting work in the field.

The key partner for Stomping Out Malaria in Africa is the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). Started in 2006, PMI is a joint initiative of the CDC and USAID and is responsible for all malaria prevention work by US Government Agencies.

Malaria is a major infectious disease in Rwanda. The entire population is at risk, including an estimated 1.9 million children <5 and 460,000 pregnant women every year. Transmission occurs year-round with two peaks from May to June and November to December following the rainy seasons. Treatment takes place at the community level by Community Health Workers (CHWs). Health centers refer cases of severe malaria to district or referral hospitals. Rwanda is working towards pre-elimination of malaria, defined as a slide positivity rate of <5%.