MALARIA

Fisherman Taban finds the very idea of sleeping under a net hot and claustrophobic. And besides, when his pregnant wife’s not looking he can think of a much better use for it. Making life easy for Madam Mosquito and her brood…

It’s a familiar story, but the film charms us anew into reflecting around the practical, doable steps that can save lives, while participatory activities invite closer exploration of the links between behaviour and disease, and local behaviour change barriers. 

Our Malaria programme is designed to support campaigns across Sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease continues to kill around 1,000 children under the age of five every day (Unicef). It can be pitched at wider community audiences as well as children and young people, and is currently active in South Sudan, Tanzania and Madagascar.

  • South Sudan. These internally displaced children are vulnerable to malaria even in the dry season.

  • Madagascar: A tale of taboos about nets, told through shadow puppetry.

  • A model of these children’s village highlights risks, vulnerabilities and disease.

  • Diagram from Madam Mosquito's ‘WHERE TO BITE’ class.

  • “You don’t believe all that nonsense about nets, surely dear?”

  • Shadow show: Collecting water from the Nile at dusk, South Sudan.

  • Swarm of Madam Mosquito puppets ready for distribution to local facilitators.

THE MALARIA MOVIE: CLIP

Key Messages: Humans

  • Understand what causes malaria, and who is most at risk.

  • Sleep under a treated mosquito net.

  • Hang nets correctly. They save lives, so don't use them for other purposes!

  • Seek immediate health care when malaria is suspected, especially in young children.

  • Ensure you complete prescribed courses of medicine.

  • Take anti-malarial medication throughout pregnancy.

  • Don't create breeding grounds – remove standing water near homes, for example.

Key Messages: Mosquitoes

  • Bite, bite, bite!

  • Breed! Still or slow-flowing water is ideal…

  • Check out puddles of water near houses – can’t be beaten as breeding spots.

  • Strike when defences are minimal – at dusk, during the night, and at dawn.

  • Take advantage of any holes in those nets. There are usually some!

  • Appear relatively harmless – you've been around forever!!

The Story

  • A Wonderful Mother

    The bucket beside Taban's house is full of Madam Mosquito's larvae, and it's lesson time. “Bite, bite, bite!” she instructs. “The uncovered parts are the easiest to get at.” Weeks later, she and her brood arrive at Taban's house as the family sleep. “We feast tonight!” Horror strikes when her youngest is killed. Never mind – there’s an uncovered body nearby. We see the malaria parasite passing from Madam Mosquito to Taban, who spends the rest of the night scratching.

  • A Father in Denial

    Taban, fed up mending his fishing equipment, takes down the family's newly hung mosquito net to go and catch supper. What a load of nonsense about malaria – and those nets are insufferable to sleep under! Two weeks later, Taban has a high temperature and collapses. His wife Sara takes him to the health clinic where he tests positive for malaria and is given a course of treatment, only to relapse when he stops taking it before the end of the course.

  • A Merciful Outcome

    Taban learns the hard way, as always, but his story ends with recovery and a final acknowledgement of the value of nets – much to his wife and son's relief. At the health clinic they see a very sick child, but her parents have brought her here in time, and she too recovers from malaria. Sara, pregnant, is given a course of tablets to protect her unborn child. With treated nets hung throughout the village, Madam Mosquito and family fly off into the moonlight.