Hanifa Mduwike had Malaria when she was two years old.

Hanifa Mduwike had convulsions when she was two years old. One night her mother observed symptoms like vomiting, kicking of legs and arms, twitching and fever on her child. She knew that mosquito was the cause of her child’s illness. She had heard from ACCESS social marketing programs that convulsions are a sign of severe malaria and the child should be taken to the nearest health facility immediately. When Hanifa’s mother discovered that her child developed convulsions it was in the middle of the night so she could not take her to the health facility, which is located far away from her home. The only thing she could do was to sponge her child using cold water to cool down the fever and to give her antipyretics (panadol). Early next morning she took Hanifa to the health facility. At the health facility the child was given a quinine injection and chrolophenical (strong antibiotic drugs) and she was healed.

Previous qualitative research has given contradictory information on how caretakers treat their children under five years who appear to develop convulsions (degedege in Kiswahili). Some reports showed that caretakers opted for health facility treatment; others claimed that children were taken to traditional healers, while other findings revealed that caretakers used both traditional and modern treatment. Scientists working for ACCESS wanted to have more clarity on this issue and conducted an additional study. The study done by the ACCESS program in Ifakara, Tanzania (2004) revealed that out of 137 children under five who reported to have convulsions, nearly 80% were taken to a health facility as the first option to get adequate treatment.

Angel Dillip, social scientist ACCESS, November 2007