Attapeu Province in the southern part of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) is the province with the highest malaria burden. Attapeu Province is in the ‘burden reduction’ phase on the way toward malaria elimination in Lao PDR, supported by the efforts of highly dedicated health workers in the fight against malaria.
Mrs Pingkham, Malaria Focal Staff
Mrs Pingkham, 51 years old, is the malaria focal staff from the District Health Office’s Anti-Malaria Station in Phouvong District, Attapeu Province. Mrs Pingkham has been working in the health sector since 1988 and is now a senior staff member who has focused on malaria for 23 years.
She was often sick as a child and used to be admitted to hospital. Even back then she became familiar with the hospital environment, and it made her interested in working in the health sector to help people who are sick.
“Malaria is still prevalent in my area, and it affects people’s health and the family economy when people get sick. In the past, malaria was a very high burden in Phouvong District. The numbers started decreasing in 2015, but it is still a public health issue,” she said.
Her moment of pride is when she sees malaria patients recover from their illness. “Every time I see them healthy again, I am very happy and proud of being even a tiny part of these health services.”
She recalled a memory from 2005 when she was on a field trip in Vangngang village. “While we were demonstrating how to treat bed nets with insecticide, villagers asked me to help a child who was very sick with high fever and fatigue. He looked worse because his parents hadn’t taken him to the hospital, as they believed he was cursed by spirits and had treated him only according to their traditional custom. However, I quickly brought him to the district hospital on my motorbike for the malaria test. He was diagnosed with falciparum malaria and treated, and he got better in a few days. Could you imagine if I had not been there, what would have happened to that little boy? This remains an unforgettable moment in my memory,” she said.
“Many years back there were a lot of tasks; we didn't have enough staff and I had an extremely high workload. I wanted to quit or move to work in a sector other than malaria, but I thought again. I love to do this job more than any other area of work. I love fieldwork, meeting people in rural areas and helping them be free from malaria. Finally, I decided to follow my passion,” she said.
“I would like to acknowledge the Global Fund for all its support on malaria for over a decade. All your help makes a huge impact on our local community. I hope you will continue supporting us until malaria is eliminated. Here at the local level we will try our best and work even harder to achieve elimination of falciparum malaria by 2023.”
Mrs Inpong, Health Staff
Mrs Inpong, 36 years old, is health staff at the Viengxay Health Centre, Viengxay village, Phouvong District, Attapeu Province. She has been working in the health sector since 2014 and on malaria for two years.
People live in very remote areas in Attapeu Province. As forest-goers are a high-risk population for malaria, health staff have to visit them to provide malaria education and testing, often travelling on foot through mountains and rivers. As a woman, it is sometimes difficult for Mrs Inpong to go to the forest by motorcycle in poor road conditions, especially in the rainy season.
“We reach out to them very early in the morning, at night-time and wait for them to come back from their fields. It is very hard to catch these people, and I feel like giving up sometimes. However, what keeps me going is I know I must do what I am responsible for with my full commitment and dedication. I don’t want people to get deadly malaria anymore. I will make sure people live a healthy life,” she said.
“I know it is hard and challenging to reach these people, but I will work harder to support them, share with them about malaria prevention measures, give them long-lasting insecticidal nets, and remind them to visit us when they are sick.”
“I felt happy when I first heard years ago that we had a malaria rapid diagnostic test. Now we can diagnose and treat patients at the health centre level, because in the past patients only got the diagnosis and treatment at hospitals. It is very challenging for patients who don’t have enough money for transport to the district hospital. My happiest moment is when patients recover from malaria; they keep in touch with me and see me as their family member in caring and sharing matters. I am very happy to see them living a healthy life,” she said.
Mrs Khounmy, Volunteer Malaria Worker
Mrs Khounmy, 32 years old, is a volunteer malaria worker (VMW) from Viengxay village, Phouvong District, Attapeu Province. She has been working as a VMW in Viengxay village for two years.
“I used to get malaria infection in the past, and malaria has been prevalent in our area for many years. So, I wanted to know how to test myself, my family and villagers for malaria when they get sick. When I treat patients for their malaria symptoms, they recover quickly even though they felt very sick before getting proper medicines. This is why I feel confident, different from other illnesses and diseases,” she said.
“At first, I didn’t think that being a VMW would involve so much work that I wouldn’t be able to help enough with my family’s work. Especially in the farming season, there is a lot of family work because we tend a rice field. When I had a new baby, I had to manage my time to do this job and also take care of my little daughter. I go to work and also come back to breastfeed my baby. I am determined to continue my work as a local health worker for malaria, doing active fever screening and giving intermittent preventive treatment for forest-goers. I work very hard on top of my routine family work,” she said.
“After fulfilling my VMW tasks, I support my family’s work. And my family has been supportive of my work. Of course, this volunteer job affects my personal time but it is my responsibility to protect my community from malaria. I will try my best to help people in my village,” she added.
