Introduction

In this study session you will learn about the burden of malaria worldwide, in Africa and in Ethiopia. As malaria is a vector-borne disease you will learn about the vectors, which in the case of malaria are the mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite from person to person. You will learn where mosquitoes lay their eggs and the stages of development leading up to a new flying adult. Information about the breeding habitats (water collections where mosquitoes lay eggs and develop), and the life cycle of mosquitoes, is essential for you to target anti-vector interventions in the right way. A clear understanding of the life cycle of the malaria parasite and of the mosquito, the vector which transmits it from person to person, will help you carry out your responsibility of protecting people in your community from getting malaria and of treating people who do get malaria.