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Kacaman: Burundi's YouTube star dies of malaria aged six

 bbc

Six-year-old Darcy Irakoze perfomed with the top comedians in Burundi

A six-year-old YouTube star known in Burundi for his popular comedy sketches has died of malaria, his manager says.

Darcy Irakoze, known as Kacaman, was a primary school pupil who performed online and in theatres.

He contracted malaria on Wednesday and died one day later.

Malaria has killed over 1,800 people in Burundi this year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). More than five million cases have been recorded in the country since January.

The disease is one of the main killers of children in Africa, where it claims the lives of more than 2,500 children each day, according to the UN children's agency, Unicef.

Darcy last performed on 2 August with Kigingi, a popular Burundian comedian, and was scheduled to perform in another comedy event organised by Kigingi.

Kigingi told the BBC that the death was a great loss personally and for Burundi's entertainment industry.

Darcy's death has sparked more debate on the high number of malaria cases in the country this year.

The death toll for malaria in Burundi is rivalling the Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the WHO.

Malaria cases have reached epidemic proportions, the organisation said in a report that has been disputed by the Burundian government.

Health Minister Thaddée Ndikumana told journalists that the figures were lower - 4.3 million recorded cases, with 1,400 deaths this year.

He said this was a decrease since 2017, which saw 4.9 million malaria cases and 4,300 deaths.

The WHO recorded nearly 220 million cases of the illness in 2017, with an estimated 435,000 deaths worldwide. More than 90% of malaria cases and deaths were in Africa.

World’s first malaria vaccine is being piloted in Malawi, Ghana and Kenya

Ten-year-old girls in Kenya put on contraceptives

Mercy Juma

BBC Africa, Nairobi

AFPCopyright: AFP

Girls appeared only to be concerned about pregnancy and not infectionsImage caption: Girls appeared only to be concerned about pregnancy and not infections

Some parents in Kenya are putting children as young as 10 on contraceptives in an attempt to keep them in school, the BBC has learnt.

Across the country one in five girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are reported to be pregnant or have a child already.

In Kwale County near the coast, the rates of girls dropping out of school due to pregnancy are among the highest in the country.

There, a reproductive health nurse told the BBC that about 10% of girls who came for contraceptives were below the age of 14.

He said it was worrying that they were only concerned about pregnancy but not about contracting HIV or sexually transmitted infections.

Proposals to introduce sex education in schools have been harshly criticised by political leaders, and termed immoral by religious leaders.

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'Half of Burundi population have malaria'

The parasite that causes malaria is transmitted from the female mosquito's saliva

Some 5.7 million cases of malaria have been recorded in Burundi in 2019, AFP news agency quotes the UN's humanitarian agency as saying.

That's roughly half the population of the country.

Malaria has killed more than 1,800 people in Burundi this year, AFP reports the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest situation report.

The death toll rivals that of the Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo - where more than 1,800 people have died in the last year.

OCHA reportedly said in May that the outbreak had crossed epidemic proportions.

VOA news for Sunday, August 4th, 2019

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