用肥皂对抗疟疾

If your experience raging fever， shaking chills， headache， muscle aches， tiredness， nausea， vomiting， and diarrhea， it is likely that you get the malaria.

But now， Moctar Dembele， who is from Burkina Faso， and Gerard Niyondiko， from Burundi， innovate a soap that could help reduce the devastating impact of the life-threatening disease， which is spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes.

The soap is dubbed as “Fasoap” which is made from shea butter， essential lemongrass oil and other ingredients. The innovation was awarded the $25，000 Grand Prize in the Global Social Venture Competition （GSVC）， in April. It is the first time that an entry from Africa has won the competition.

"After using the soap， it leaves on the skin a scent that repels mosquitoes，" says Niyondiko， who studies with Dembele at the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering in Ouagadougou， the capital of Burkina Faso.

According to the World Health Organization， about half of the world's population is at risk of malaria. Malaria killed an estimated 660，000 people， mostly among children under five years old， in 2010， 90% of which occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.

Besides its high toll on human life， malaria also causes a heavy burden on economies. Household budgets are being squeezed by doctors' fees and treatment fees； marginalized communities loss productivity or income because of the disease； state funds are being drained because of the maintenance of health facilities and researches.

Niyondiko says their soap will help address all these issues. "In our country the majority of the population lives below the poverty line，" he explains， adding that most people can't afford to regularly buy medicines and products such as anti-mosquito creams， sprays or protective nets.

The team is now working on the optimization of the soap through clinical trials， with the aim of entering the market by 2015， starting from Burkina Faso.

"Our goal is that our soap is widely distributed to reach the largest possible number in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world affected by malaria，" says Niyondiko. "This is to say that NGOs， companies will be our potential customers for the distribution of our products. After the victory obtained at Berkeley there are so many NGOs， companies who spoke to a partnership with us in order to distribute our soap in different parts， even outside Africa."

"It is a feeling of joy and pride for us and for Africa in general，" says Niyondiko of their win. "It also shows that in Africa we are not back（ward） and that Africa's problems can be solved by Africans themselves."

如果你有发热、寒战、头痛、肌肉酸痛、疲倦、恶心、呕吐和腹泻的情况，你很可能患有疟疾。疟疾的主要传播载体是蚊子。但现在两名分别来自布基纳法索和布隆迪的人发明了可以帮助减少疟疾感染率的新型肥皂。这种特别的肥皂是由牛油果，基本香茅油和其他成分所做成。使用后，它在皮肤上留下的气味有驱除蚊子的作用，从而有助降低疟疾的传播。