<p>As Delhi observed World Malaria Day with the launch of a new drug and seminars, children in Okhla had a creative campaign to offer. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Through a seven-minute film Machchar Bhagao Re, they spread awareness about malaria and its prevention. The film also looked into some area-specific issues.<br /><br />It begins with a young girl, Yusra Fatima, holding her doll and complaining that garbage in front of the house is responsible for the doll catching malaria. She asks neighbours to maintain cleanliness to prevent the disease.<br /><br />“Yusra is in first standard and the idea for the film originated from her real life. She actually believed that her doll had caught malaria,” said Aseem Asha Usman, founder of Flying Birds of India, an organisation that encourages children to make films. It had helped the kids make the film.<br /><br />Yusra believed so after she saw a number of people around her infected with plasmodium, a parasite that causes malaria. <br /><br />Last year, 218 cases of malaria were reported in the capital by October. Doctors say the incidence is much higher as details of patients who do not go to government or private hospitals are not taken into account.<br /><br />“Construction activities are going on in our area, blocking drains. Water has accumulated on the roads, which results in more mosquitoes. So I took part in the making of the film,” said Mushtaq Ali, a class 12 student, who handled the camera and edited the film. It is available on YouTube. He had caught malaria last summer. <br /><br />“Even now I get bitten all the time,” he said. The lead song is sung by class 7 student Satyam Kumar, who had reached the second round in Indian Idol. People can see the film on their cellphones too.<br /><br />The campaign on malaria puts the onus on people to clean their houses and desert coolers, and to avoid water accumulation, which serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes. <br /><br />“The issue of construction work in Okhla is one matter. The area is not regularised by the municipal corporation and there is no proper disposal of garbage,” said Usman.<br />Congested lanes and streets are also fertile grounds for mosquitoes to breed.<br /><br />Malaria, which is marked by high fever and severe headache, is increasingly becoming drug-resistant, spelling trouble for the government in containing it.<br /></p>
<p>As Delhi observed World Malaria Day with the launch of a new drug and seminars, children in Okhla had a creative campaign to offer. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Through a seven-minute film Machchar Bhagao Re, they spread awareness about malaria and its prevention. The film also looked into some area-specific issues.<br /><br />It begins with a young girl, Yusra Fatima, holding her doll and complaining that garbage in front of the house is responsible for the doll catching malaria. She asks neighbours to maintain cleanliness to prevent the disease.<br /><br />“Yusra is in first standard and the idea for the film originated from her real life. She actually believed that her doll had caught malaria,” said Aseem Asha Usman, founder of Flying Birds of India, an organisation that encourages children to make films. It had helped the kids make the film.<br /><br />Yusra believed so after she saw a number of people around her infected with plasmodium, a parasite that causes malaria. <br /><br />Last year, 218 cases of malaria were reported in the capital by October. Doctors say the incidence is much higher as details of patients who do not go to government or private hospitals are not taken into account.<br /><br />“Construction activities are going on in our area, blocking drains. Water has accumulated on the roads, which results in more mosquitoes. So I took part in the making of the film,” said Mushtaq Ali, a class 12 student, who handled the camera and edited the film. It is available on YouTube. He had caught malaria last summer. <br /><br />“Even now I get bitten all the time,” he said. The lead song is sung by class 7 student Satyam Kumar, who had reached the second round in Indian Idol. People can see the film on their cellphones too.<br /><br />The campaign on malaria puts the onus on people to clean their houses and desert coolers, and to avoid water accumulation, which serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes. <br /><br />“The issue of construction work in Okhla is one matter. The area is not regularised by the municipal corporation and there is no proper disposal of garbage,” said Usman.<br />Congested lanes and streets are also fertile grounds for mosquitoes to breed.<br /><br />Malaria, which is marked by high fever and severe headache, is increasingly becoming drug-resistant, spelling trouble for the government in containing it.<br /></p>
