Thanks to the Healthy Children, Healthy Homes™ malaria prevention program, more than half a million people living in South Africa are learning to prevent the spread of the dangerous disease.

The Healthy Children, Healthy Homes™ program is a collaborative effort between the Raid^® insect control brand, South Africa’s National Department of Health, the Medical Research Council and RTI International. SC Johnson hopes to expand the program to additional areas in the future.

Healthy Children, Healthy Homes™ is about reaching people with easy-to-understand information about malaria, and encouraging them to share it with family and friends.

The program targets three South Africa provinces with endemic malaria — Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Kwazulu-Natal, and so far we've reached 600,000 people with health messages for malaria prevention and treatment.

How it works is simple. Through Healthy Children, Healthy Homes™, malaria education is presented to school children and community members. It covers topics like how to prevent infection, identifying symptoms, and complying with prescribed medical treatment for those who are infected.

The program uses colorful games and take-home items like t-shirts, posters and calendars to encourage children to take the messages with them and share them for the protection of others in the community.

And it's working. Based on a recent program assessment, 74 percent of the students and 81 percent of adults who completed the training could name at least three effective methods for prevention — compared with 15 percent and 13 percent before participation.