Day 19

1 m² mosquito net for a family in Nicaragua

A net for people – a barrier for mosquitoes A net for people – a barrier for mosquitoes

1 m² mosquito net for a family in Nicaragua
Day 19
Prevention of infectious diseases

If you look in a German medical textbook, you will usually only find a short paragraph about dengue. In Nicaragua, however, the disease is known throughout the country and shapes the everyday life of many people. Dengue, like malaria or Zika, is transmitted by mosquitoes. Dengue is caused by the Aedes mosquito. The disease begins like the flu with high fever and headaches and body aches. Nausea, vomiting and rashes can also occur. The symptoms usually subside after two to seven days. However, there are also serious cases that can be fatal and therefore must be treated in a hospital. So far, as with Corona, there is no vaccination or drug treatment for dengue. Therefore, prevention is the best protection. To this end, the health authorities in Nicaragua are using insecticides on a large scale, among other things. It can seem threatening when you see it for the first time: a jeep drives through the streets and sprays misty insect poison from large nozzles. A more environmentally friendly measure to prevent mosquito bites is mosquito nets. However, these are too expensive for many households.

Prevention of infectious diseases
need
Mosquito nets and medical supplies for the rural population in Nicaragua.
activity
The local NGO CEDRU buys mosquito nets for the population and medical materials for the health centers.
Measurable performance
Number of mosquito nets distributed and families benefiting from the measure.
Result
The number of infections transmitted by mosquitoes is declining significantly. Medical care is improving.
Systemically relevant impact
The health and living conditions of the rural population are improving sustainably. Deaths from malaria and dengue are decreasing.
background

Mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever or Zika are widespread in most tropical countries and pose a significant health risk to the population. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers mosquitoes to be among the deadliest animals in the world: the diseases they transmit kill up to 700,000 people each year (WHO, 2020). Nicaragua has seen a sharp increase in malaria and dengue infections in recent years. The infection rate of malaria rose by 20 percent, with almost 11,000 confirmed cases in 2017 (WHO, 2017). Regarding the spread of dengue, the WHO data is even more worrying: In 2019, 186,173 cases of dengue were registered, three times as many as in the previous year (around 60,000 cases). This gives Nicaragua the third highest infection rate in all of Latin America (WHO, 2019).

The increasing incidence rates show how important it is to counteract the spread of these diseases with targeted measures. In addition to public education about the causes, spread and symptoms of the diseases, this includes preventive protection through mosquito nets. However, due to inadequate infrastructure and limited financial resources in the public health system, these measures cannot be implemented across the board, especially in rural areas.

Day 19 Day 19
The good deed

Your donation today will make it possible to provide mosquito nets to the rural population in Nicaragua. People can use nets to protect themselves from mosquitoes and help reduce the spread of tropical diseases such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya and Zika. The health centers will also receive basic medical equipment such as thermometers, blood pressure monitors, syringes, face masks and gowns. The improved equipment will facilitate correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment, including for other communicable diseases such as corona. Reliable health care and the prevention of tropical diseases help to sustainably improve the living conditions of the rural population.

AboutNicaragua
Managua
Managua
Capital city
6,545,500
6,545,500
Population
$4,790
$4,790
Gross domestic product per capita per year
Rank 126 of 189
Rank 126 of 189
Human Development Index (Human Development Index)

Nicaragua is the land of lakes and volcanoes. Lake Nicaragua is the largest lake in Central America. There are 19 volcanoes, some of which are still active today.