The 19th century European missionaries and the fight against malaria in Africa

Abstract

Malaria once turned Africa into the "missionaries' graveyard" as many European missionary personnel and families perished planting the Gospel in the Continent in the 19th century. The situation, however, is not completely different today in many rural African communities. The purpose of this research is to present a social challenge to the present day Christian missionaries in Africa by describing the landmark achievement of the 19th century missionaries in the fight against mosquito plague in Africa, namely their introduction of the first ever drug for malaria treatment in the continent. Central and West Africa are used as a case for this study. This research applied descriptive analysis to the health and life situation that faced the early European missionaries as they laboured to evangelize the people of Africa.