It was a muggy afternoon in Gabu, Guinea-Bissau, and the tabanca was surrounded by the sound of crickets and the smell of warm earth.
Nbeta, a grandmother with a serene smile and a warrior’s heart, gazed tenderly at her grandson Seco, just six months old. In her arms, he was the centre of her world and her greatest concern as she knew he remains vulnerable to deadly diseases such as malaria.
Today, Amadu, the community health worker of her village passed by to give Seco a malaria preventive treatment, that will reduce the risk of Seco contracting. Amadu passes by every month during the rainy season to give this treatment to all children below 10 of the community.
Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC or QPS in Portuguese) primarily targets young children. In Guinea-Bissau, the SMC 2024 campaign includes children up to the age of 10 for the first time. Gabu is the region with the highest malaria prevalence in the country. Grandma Nbeta knew what malaria could do. The disease, which appeared with the arrival of the rains, had already taken friends, neighbours and even relatives.

Prevention matters

Grandma Nbeta thought about it when she heard about the campaign. The idea of giving little Seco medicine, even though he wasn’t ill, seemed strange. But the Health Officer at the local health center, Jamilia, patiently explained that the medication acted as a barrier, preventing the malaria parasite — plasmodium — from attacking the child’s body. It would be enough for him to take the three preventative doses during each month of the rainy season, when the mosquito proliferates, to drastically reduce the risk of having malaria.