Like most remote villages in Indonesia, Ngreco suffers from a high incidence of malaria. The village’s remote location means residents are inaccessible to district health workers, and have little access to health care services. In eastern Indonesia, where malaria is endemic, malaria rates are usually 20-30 percent, but at one point in Ngreco it reached 80 percent. In 2006, a grant from the local government allowed the village to build a much-needed concrete bridge. While the grant alone was not sufficient, the villagers contributed their time and resources to make up the difference, receiving 50-70 percent of their normal wages. The construction of the bridge created cheaper prices for the goods they purchase, higher selling prices for their produce, easier access to schools and hospitals, and a drastically reduced malaria incidence of just 20 percent. Ngreco's experience shows that the government's goal of eliminating the mosquito-borne disease by 2030 is not impossible.
Source: IRINNews
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