Located in the south of the district, about 40km from Khe Sanh town, bordering Laos with 3 villages and a population of more than 2,000 people, mostly ethnic minorities, a high poverty rate (over 30%), large population movements, Xy has been one of the malaria hotspots for many years.
Nằm ở phía Nam của huyện, cách thị trấn Khe Sanh khoảng 40km, có đường biên giới tiếp giáp với nước bạn Lào với 3 thôn và dân số hơn 2000 người, đa phần là đồng bào dân tộc thiểu số, tỷ lệ hộ nghèo khá cao (hơn 30%), di biến động dân cư lớn nên Xy là một trong những điểm nóng về sốt rét trong nhiều năm liền.
In order to gradually prevent and reduce the number of new malaria cases in the area, the Department of Health regularly directs health facilities at all levels to focus on supporting Xy commune not only in terms of professional expertise and implementing strong malaria prevention measures such as spraying residual chemicals indoors, providing long‐lasting mosquito nets and hammocks for local residents as well as migrants crossing the border, entering forests and farming, but also focusing on training and strengthening the grassroots health network to meet the requirements of malaria prevention and elimination in the area in the coming period. Thanks to that, the number of cases has gradually decreased over time; especially in the two years of 2020‐2021, no malaria cases were recorded. This achievement, in addition to the attention of the Party and State in general socio‐economic development, also has the efforts of health workers at all levels, including the significant contribution of the grassroots health team.
However, the risk of malaria re‐emerging in Xy commune is very high because the poverty rate is still high, a large number of people migrate to Laos to seek business opportunities such as farming, growing bananas; buying and selling activities, searching for products such as wild orchids, bamboo shoots… during the malaria transmission season. In recent months alone, in Raman village ‐ Xy commune, 02 cases of malaria infection from outside were recorded due to picking bamboo shoots and herding cows across the border. The presence of the main Anopheles mosquito species in the area and favorable environments such as residents living near rivers and streams; plants grown around houses… as well as the monitoring and management network of migrant groups are a big challenge; investment resources for malaria prevention are gradually decreasing, increasing the risk of local malaria outbreaks.
Due to the prevalence of malaria, the Project “Malaria Prevention for Migrants, Phase 2021‐2023” sponsored by HPA (Health Poverty Action ‐ HPA) in conjunction with the Quang Tri Department of Health selected Xy commune to implement with the goal of: Actively detecting cases in the community, focusing on people who go to the forest, work on fields and cross the border. In addition, the project also helps improve the quality of information collection on malaria prevention for health workers at all levels, especially information on migrants in hard‐to‐reach areas; At the same time, the project also helps improve the capacity of epidemiological surveillance for health workers at all levels, especially at the grassroots level.
In order for malaria prevention activities to be effective according to the set objectives, in addition to organizing training on malaria case detection skills and communication to the target group for the network of Coordinators, volunteers, and village health workers, the Project also supports monitoring costs and provides materials for the Commune Mobile Team such as motorbikes, communication materials, treatment books and malaria patient testing; organizes annual communication events through monthly meetings in villages, contributing to making the coverage of the Project’s beneficiaries increasingly widespread.
Talking to us, Mr. Cu Giac Hien ‐ Head of the Health Station and Project Coordinator of Xy Commune said: Thanks to the support of the Project, the commune and village health teams have improved their knowledge and practical skills in malaria prevention, regularly working in the community such as investigating blood smears and communicating with high‐risk groups who interact with about more than 200 people/month; malaria cases are consulted and given anti‐malarial drugs directly under the supervision of village health workers at home to ensure the correct dose and the drugs reach the patient’s stomach. Thanks to that, there have been no deaths from malaria, and the disease outbreaks have been contained early and have not spread to the community. However, malaria in Xy commune still faces many difficulties and challenges in the coming time because it is a commune with severe malaria epidemic according to the epidemiological zoning of the Ministry of Health, the majority of people living in the area are ethnic minorities, the economy and education are still low, the number of people interacting is large, so without support from the upper level, the work of malaria prevention and elimination is difficult to be sustainable.
Speaking at the provincial coordination meeting, Dr. Tran Van Thinh ‐ Deputy Director of the Department of Health and Head of the project management board said: The Department of Health highly appreciates the efforts of the staff participating in the project and noted: In the context of the local budget for malaria prevention and elimination activities being increasingly limited, funding from HPA is an extremely necessary support. Therefore, it is necessary to use this resource effectively to contribute to good control of the malaria situation in the area.
Malaria is a parasitic disease that affects the health of people and the community. Therefore, Party committees and authorities at all levels should join hands with the health sector; mobilize more local resources, strengthen and diversify communication forms to make all people in the area understand malaria prevention measures to protect themselves, their families and the community.
Author: Ths.Bs.Le Thanh
Quang Tri Provincial Center for Disease Control
