UNICEF Fighting Malaria along the Zambezi River

ZAMBEZI RIVER, Zambia, 24 April 2008 -- Patricia Mobuku's 10 children are lucky to be alive. Living beside the Zambezi River, the children have always been plagued by malaria. Fortunately for them, their village is just a short canoe trip across the water from the local clinic and its life-saving supply of drugs. But Ms. Mobuku, 45, is haunted by the fear that one day her luck will run out, and one of her malaria-infected children will not get treatment in time. That's why she recently bundled her three smallest children into a canoe and braved the flood-swollen river -- hoping that rumours about boats full of insecticide-treated bed nets were true. "There is a lot of malaria in our village because there are a lot of mosquitoes that live and breed by the river," said Ms. Mobuku. "A bed net will be very helpful because it will protect my youngest children."

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YouTube | August 21, 2008

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