[00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, [00:01.86]this is the Health Report. [00:04.10]Even though Malaria can be both prevented and treated, [00:08.83]the disease is the third biggest killer of children in the world. [00:13.91]Malaria is caused by bites from insects called mosquitoes. [00:19.25]People who sleep in beds covered by special nets [00:23.80]are less likely to be infected. [00:26.79]When the nets are used correctly, [00:29.53]they prevent the flying insects from biting people as they sleep. [00:34.61]Susan Eckhart is a Peace Corps volunteer [00:37.96]in the Western African country of Burkina Faso. [00:41.54]Malaria is responsible for about 9,000 deaths there every year. [00:48.52]"Malaria is everywhere. [00:50.16]People live with it just as we live with a common cold. [00:53.21]They blame everything on Malaria. [00:54.90]They are not aware of how it is transmitted. [00:58.00]They have become reliant on treatment better than prevention." [01:02.22]As soon as someone reports a high body temperature, [01:07.05]they are given medicine to treat Malaria. [01:10.34]Ms Eckhart says Malaria medicine is used [01:14.54]at the first sign of sickness because it costs less [01:18.62]than the test to identify the disease. [01:21.96]There is a lot of misunderstanding about Malaria [01:26.09]and a lack of good information. [01:28.78]"They do get a lot of information about illnesses [01:31.57]that confuse them all, so they are not sure [01:34.36]if they are talking about Cholera or Malaria or AIDS." [01:39.59]In 2011, the Peace Corps launched Stomp Out Malaria in Africa. [01:45.87]Peace Corps volunteers are trained [01:48.51]so they can be directly involved in education to prevent Malaria. [01:53.65]Ms Eckhart is one of the volunteers who presents lessons [01:58.39]in fun ways that will help the children remember. [02:02.96]"The one with most fun was a tag game [02:08.34]where two kids play the roles of mosquitoes [02:11.27]and if they tagged someone, [02:13.62]that person became infected and had to sit down." [02:16.81]Susan Eckhart teaches students from first grade through fifth grade. [02:22.73]Older children who had attended a leadership camp [02:25.96]came to help with the games. [02:28.81]The older children also translated the Malaria information [02:33.46]into the local Dagaare language. [02:36.00]"One of our volunteers wrote a very good song [02:40.54]to the tone of 'We will, We will rock you’, [02:43.57]as the hint came out is - we can stop malaria [02:47.66]with stomping and clapping. [02:49.91]And the kids just love it." [02:51.55]Children also acted in short plays [02:54.94]and wrote and sang songs about malaria. [02:58.38]"We are living in the villages with the villagers, [03:01.52]and we can introduce these subjects, you know, [03:04.25]in a casual conversation of a calabash of the local beer." [03:08.68]It is too soon to tell how much of the important information [03:13.77]in the songs and games it shared with families. [03:17.75]But Susan Eckhart says using Peace Corps volunteers [03:21.85]to spread the word on preventing Malaria is a good idea. [03:26.43]Being part of the community means sharing knowledge, [03:30.92]she adds, especially about something as important as Malaria. [03:35.40]And that's the Health Report. [03:38.10]You can find more information at www.stompoutmalaria.org. [03:46.36]This is Learning English [03:48.75]from the Voice of America in Washington. [03:52.89]I'm Jim Tedder.

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