MALARIA PHOTO ESSAY

The following images were taken in May and June, 2012 in Soroti, Katakwi, and Amuria Districts in Uganda. The trip itinerary included meetings with health officers, hospital staff, government officials, and malaria patients in rural villages. These photos were shot over the course of three weeks, and in that time period it is estimated that over 4,000 Ugandans died of malaria.

Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.

SOROTI REFERRAL HOSPITAL – Outpatient Department
Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.

SOROTI REFERRAL HOSPITAL – Outpatient Department
Malaria is particularly hard on mothers. Many of the women we interviewed had an average income of $.30 cents/week, and traveled long distances in order to bring their children to the hospital.

Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.
Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.

KATAKWI DISTRICT HOSPITAL – Outpatient Department
Similar to every clinic across the country, the outpatient department in the Katakwi District Hospital is filled with malaria patients.

KATAKWI DISTRICT HOSPITAL – Outpatient Department
A young mother waits to be seen while holding her malaria-ridden, fever-stricken child.

Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.
Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.

HOSPITAL RECORDS FOR MARCH 2012- Soroti Referral Hospital
Month after month, malaria incidences far exceed all other medical issues.

PEDIATRIC WARD #5 – Soroti Referral Hospital
“Malaria normally kills the unknowns in our society. The little people in society are the one who die of malaria, the small, quiet people who are building the nation. They have to be looked after — let’s look at them and take it as a very serious condition. There are so many people dying in the villages… and nobody will talk about them.”
— Dr Joseph, Managing Director of the Soroti Referral Hospital.

Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.
Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.

PEDIATRIC WARD #5 – Soroti Referral Hospital
Mothers have travelled from all over eastern Uganda to have their children treated at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Every single child in the pediatric ward was diagnosed with malaria.

PEDIATRIC WARD #5 – Soroti Referral Hospital
This Ugandan mother travelled to the Soroti Referral Hospital with several of her children. Her youngest was gravely ill with malaria. With an income of $.30 cents a week, the trip came at great cost and yet she expressed hope that her child’s life would be saved. It is estimated that an average Ugandan family will spend up to 25% of annual income on malaria treatment and prevention.

Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.
Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.

PEDIATRIC WARD #5 – Soroti Referral Hospital
Malaria is the biggest killer of children under five years old. In infants this is because their immune systems are not yet fully developed, while in under fives they have not yet developed effective resistance to the disease.

PEDIATRIC WARD #5 – Soroti Referral Hospital
A recent survey among postpartum women in rural Uganda, in which 88% had made more than 1 prenatal visit, found that only 31% of women used a bed net during pregnancy. (Kiwuwa MS, Mufubenga P Malar J. 2008 Mar 1; 7():44. PUBMED).

Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.
Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.

PEDIATRIC WARD #5 – Soroti Referral Hospital
30 million women living in malaria-endemic areas in Africa become pregnant each year, with hundreds of thousands of newborn deaths each year as a result of malaria transmission in pregnancy.

ANTENATAL WARD – Soroti Referral Hospital
Pregnant women infected with malaria usually have more severe symptoms, with higher rates of miscarriage, intrauterine demise, premature delivery, and neonatal death. They are also at a higher risk for severe anemia and maternal death.

Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.
Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.

INPATIENT DEPARTMENT – Amuria District Hospital
It is estimated that children in Uganda suffer an average of 6 episodes of malaria each year.

AMURIA DISTRICT HOSPITAL
Malaria represents a massive drain on the public health infrastructure. It is estimated that malaria accounts for 40% of all outpatient attendances, 20% of all admissions, and 14% of all in-patient deaths.

Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.
Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.

SOROTI REFERRAL HOSPITAL
With an insufficient number of beds in the pediatric ward, mothers and children are forced to camp outside for the duration of their medical treatment.

AMURIA DISTRICT HOSPITAL
Born 2 hours before this photo was taken, this newborn boy is given a bath by his grandmother. Facing an uncertain future due to the burden of malaria in her community, his mother expressed hope that Uganda might one day be free of malaria.

Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.
Women and children line up to be seen at the Soroti Referral Hospital. Hospital staff estimate that over 90% of all outpatients are diagnosed with malaria.

AMURIA DISTRICT HOSPITAL
A proud mother holds her son. We join her in the hope that her child will realize a future that is healthy, productive, and malaria-free.