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Using cinchona tree bark as a natural alternative for controlling malaria

Training will be provided to 150 families and four institutions of the District of San Ramon, in the region of Junín of Peru, to control malaria vectors through the cultivation of cinchona tree, as a natural alternative treatment for malaria. The project's aim is to improve the health of the population in this area through prevention, treatment and vector control and thus reduce the incidence of malaria among 150 families. Implementing this project is possible thanks to the collaboration of our local partner, Aprodes.


CONTEXT
The district of San Ramón has a population of 27,400 inhabitants of whom 2,630 are children, 5,480 are young people with 19,289 adults and where 21.5% of the population lives in complete poverty. In the socio-political and health context the improper management of solid waste favouring the development of malaria vectors must be highlighted.

Secondly, it is characterised as being a region meeting all the necessary climatic conditions for the development of malaria. And, lastly, there is a high incidence of this disease, with 341 cases already having been confirmed. This fact has caused alarm bells to go off in the district's National Epidemiology Centre and its Health Network.

PROJECT
This project aims to reduce the incidence of malaria transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito among 150 families, who live in high-risk areas of the district of San Ramón, through the use of the cinchona tree bark, as a natural alternative treatment for malaria. Furthermore, it is aimed at reassessing the medicinal use of quine and at the same time propagating the species through planting and sustainable forest management. To achieve this, a participatory approach will be adopted, encouraging the population to take part in the activities foreseen for implementing it. These are the following: 
  • Training 150 families on hygiene for controlling malaria. 
  • Creating and training 10 Community Health Workers. 
  • Waste collection campaigns. 
  • Vector surveillance and control. 
  • Training four nearby educational institutions in at risk areas. 
  • Creating and training four malaria control brigades within these institutions. 
  • "Malaria breeding-free educational institutions" competition. 
  • Construction of a centralised forest nursery for producing cinchona tree seedlings. 
  • Training in the growth and establishment of the cinchona tree and benefits from using its bark as a treatment for malaria. 

This initiative has two main aims. On the one hand, to reduce the incidence of malaria in 150 families from at-risk areas through monitoring, vector control and using the cinchona tree bark. And secondly, to train four educational institutions to control, prevent and treat malaria.

The outcomes expected from this project are 150 families using the cinchona tree bark as a natural alternative malaria treatment. And training four educational institutions so they can reduce the breeding sites of the malaria transmitting vector.

BENEFICIARIES
The project's direct beneficiaries are 150 families from the district of San Ramón living in areas at risk of malaria.

The indirect beneficiaries are four educational institutions with 1,400 students and the other 27,400 inhabitants of the district of San Ramón.