Spreading the Indoor Residue Spray messages with soccer

Deviating from the norm of conducting an awareness campaign using a public Address System (PAS) with loud sounds, the Indoor Residue Spray (IRS) exercise in Mangochi has taken a new approach this year.

The Mangochi IRS awareness has been spiced with a soccer bonanza dubbed ‘Mpopela Bonanza’ with 72 teams competing for top prizes.

So far five teams have bagged home Mk350,000 each as top prizes, with five teams also getting second, third and fourth prizes each.

20-year-old Memory is one of the soccer fans who have been following the games.

Memory has had her house sprayed for the first time, saying this time she was thrilled with the soccer games where she got the message about the ongoing IRS exercise.

“When the spraying exercise started, I was a bit hesitant to participate as I did not have enough information, however when the Mpopela bonanza started, I came for the games where I also got much information about IRS, then I got my house sprayed,” says Memory, the mother of one.

Maxwell is the General Secretary for Mangochi District Football Association (MDFA). He has been working hand in hand with World Vision-Global Fund in team organizing the matches.

Yasin expresses his gratitude to World Vision for considering soccer as an effective tool to fight malaria within the district.

He says the bonanza has also given local teams a platform to showcase their full potential towards soccer development in the district.

“We are so glad that soccer could be thought of as an effective tool to curb malaria cases in the district, and as we have seen, indeed so many people love soccer as most soccer pitches were thronged with so many soccer lovers who also got the IRS messages. We are also glad that this gave the teams a platform to show their best,” says Yasin.

World Vision Project Officer Mendasi Ngosi says the bonanza was an essential initiative aimed at creating IRS awareness in the district to exceed the required target of 90 percent coverage of the households.

“We are incorporating malaria and IRS messages during the games to dispel the myths and misconceptions related to IRS so that we increase our coverage in our efforts to curb malaria incidence rate in the district,” says Ngosi.

With soccer bonanza, this year’s coverage rate is expected to reach more than 95 percent.

The bonanza was pegged at MK 30 million with 72 teams participating in the matches across the district