Story shared by Ms. Naw Thingyan Win, Village Malaria Volunteer, Myanmar.

My name is Naw Thingyan Win. I have been working as a malaria volunteer (ICMV) of Defeat Malaria project since 2017 representing Kaw Taya village located in Kayin state, Myanmar. In the past, our villagers had really suffered from malaria transmission and there were some cases of death in the villages and related areas. One of my relatives died due to malaria infection at that time. I felt sad that I could not help anyone. When USAID/ Defeat Malaria started malaria project activities at Kaw Taya village, I gladly applied to be a volunteer of the project. I have attended training for malaria diagnosis and treatment, care, prevention, and control. With the knowledge gained by this training, my health education level has greatly improved. After training, I have strived to put this knowledge into practice by implementing malaria prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for the villagers.

Today, we can easily go to our ICMV and do RDT testing, receive respective treatment at our village without going away, or concerning seasonal condition to receive malaria prevention material such as LLINs and healthcare treatment. In this year, malaria is difficult to see in our villages. All of these benefits are credited to our ICMV provided medical treatment to malaria positive cases, and shared knowledge of malaria health prevention