Malaria and the death of a child

Prisca Method, from Ifakara in south central Tanzania, has lost not just one but four of her children to malaria.

The last one died only a week after he was born.

“When the child was born, he had a fever. The doctors took him and tested him. That’s when they found out he had malaria from when he was in the womb. I stayed with him, and then god took him,” Method tells Angelusi Nyoni about the passing of her infant.

Nyoni, a Field Researcher for Ifakara Health Institute, works to keep a record of all the deaths in the community.

“Most deaths are children between birth and five years old,” he says.

Malaria can cause severe maternal anaemia, spontaneous abortion, the death of pregnant mothers, the death of newborn infants, and stillbirths.

Follow Nyoni and hear more of Prisca Method’s story on Lifelines: The Quest for Global Health, which will air on Al Jazeera in 2014.