SUCCESS STORIES

Malaria in Mali: A Father's Story

Story and Photographs by Amy Ellis

Each afternoon when Seydou returned home from teaching at the village elementary school, he looked forward to seeing his happy, gurgling baby girl Binta. At about one- year-old, Binta was trying to walk, and Seydou enjoyed witnessing the progress that she made each day.

While cradling his daughter in his lap one evening, Seydou noticed that she seemed warmer than usual. The family was awoken later that night to Binta’s cries. She had a high fever and her parents feared that she might have malaria. Retrieving medicines that they kept on hand for use in just such an emergency, Binta’s mother gave her a dose of chloroquine and acetaminophen.

The next morning, Binta’s parents were relieved to find that her temperature had returned to normal, but again that night, the child’s cries roused her parents, and they were found her drenched in sweat. Seydou wrapped his daughter in a dampened blanket while his wife urged Binta to sip cool water, but the baby’s condition continued to worsen. Her labored breathing slowed considerably and soon she began to shake violently. Terrified, Binta’s parents feared the worst.

“I had never before seen a child in that state,” recalled Binta’s mother, “When she convulsed, we were so afraid. We told ourselves that she might die.”

Seydou believed that his daughter was suffering from malaria and insisted that she be brought to the community health center as soon as it opened.

“There were neighbors who counseled us to use only traditional medicines because they believed the illness was caused by evil forces,” explained Seydou. “I didn’t follow this advice because Binta’s illness was nothing other than severe malaria. Therefore, I decided that it was best to go to the health center.”

At dawn, Seydou and his wife carried Binta to the health center, where Seydou’s suspicions were confirmed. Binta was diagnosed with severe malaria and treated with several injections and syrups. Her convulsions stopped and her fever began to subside. Soon, the relieved parents were allowed to take their child home.

However, despite his hopes that her illness had been cured, Seydou could not help but notice that even after her treatment, Binta remained lethargic, refused to eat, and continued to have a mild fever. The worried parents tried differenent drugs, but they had no effect. Several of Seydou’s neighbors continued to advise him to bring his daughter to a traditional healer, but Seydou still believed that Binta’s illness could only be cured with modern medicine. Giving all of his remaining savings to his wife, Seydou instructed her to take Binta to the regional hospital.

“At that point, I had almost lost hope. I told my wife to stay at the hospital until Binta was completely cured,” Seydou said. “People think that this illness is caused by spirits, but I know that it is due to malaria. It kills children before the parents even realize that the child is sick.”

After a day’s journey to the hospital Binta was diagnosed with severe malaria and treated with medicines that cost all of the family’s savings. But the child’s fever dissipated and her appetite return. Today, Binta is fully recovered from her illness, and when children in the village fall sick with a fever, Seydou always counsels their parents to take them promptly to the health center for treatment.