Uguso Muhumed, 34, knows too well the unbearable pain of losing a child to malaria. In 2018, she suffered this devastating tragedy. Before she could recover from her grief, she and her family had to flee their homes because of the violent conflicts that erupted in her home in Oromia two years later.
They now live some 398 kilometers away from home, desperately seeking shelter at the Shabeley Internally Displaced People (IDP) site in Ethiopia’s Somali region. But their ordeal is not over. The constant threat of a malaria outbreak, the same deadly disease that claimed her child’s life, now lurks around the shelters housing hundreds of people in a small compound.
Internal displacement presents a host of public health challenges. IDPs stand particularly vulnerable to diseases like malaria and other epidemics due to the concentration of the population. This heightened risk is made worse by the inadequate availability of preventive measures, such as long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs).
Often excluded from infection prevention interventions, the IDP population remains largely absent from the planning process. The Shabeley IDP site mirrors this broader challenge. Located in Ethiopia’s Somali region, Shabeley IDP site is home to 891 internally displaced individuals.
“We used to endure mosquito bites and suffer from malaria infections. Thanks to the nets, my children and I are now safe.”— Uguso Muhumed, a mother displaced by conflict.
The PATH-implemented President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI)–funded Surveillance for Malaria Elimination Activity (S4ME) has been working to improve the system that keeps track of and reports malaria cases in Ethiopia. To achieve this, PMI S4ME introduced the malaria surveillance chart and trained about 3,500 health workers in malaria surveillance and data quality.
The goal of PMI S4ME is to help the national malaria elimination program in designing tailored interventions based on the generated surveillance data. These efforts ultimately contribute to Ethiopia’s ambition of eliminating malaria by 2030.
While conducting on-the-job mentorship support, the PMI S4ME team observed that IDPs at the Shabeley IDP site missed the LLIN distribution intended for permanent residents in 2020. The absence of malaria prevention not only puts vulnerable communities at risk, but also poses the threat of disease transmission to resident communities.
Uguso Muhumed and her children at the Shabeley Internally Displaced People (IDP) site in Ethiopia’s Somali region. Photo: PATH/Fethi Adem.
Considering these risks, PMI S4ME facilitated the distribution of 500 LLINs to 120 IDP households in April 2023 by working closely with Shabeley woreda health officials. Adhering to national malaria guidelines, the bed nets were distributed with the recommendation that one LLIN can protect about two people. In total, 891 individuals (495 women and girls, 396 men and boys) have been protected from malaria infection.
Uguso and her children, once regular visitors to a health center due to recurring malaria infections, among others, express gratitude for the protection afforded by the LLIN. “We used to endure mosquito bites and suffer from malaria infections. Thanks to the nets, my children and I are now safe.”
PMI S4ME remains committed to collaborating with partners to mobilize resources, ensuring equitable access to malaria prevention, diagnosis, and treatment interventions for vulnerable communities.
