If you’ve ever been bitten by a mosquito, you’ll know how pesky they are. But they’re a serious problem in many hot countries where they spread a disease called malaria.

When Josué, 7, and his little sister Jaeli, 5, from Angola in southern Africa caught malaria after being bitten by a mosquito, their mum knew how to make them better. ‘I was sick and hot, but Mummy looked after me and gave me medicine. Then I was better,’ says Josué.

Josué’s mum, Tabita, knew how to look after him and Jaeli because she had been on a health course and spotted what was wrong with them straight away. But other children aren’t so lucky; every 40 seconds an African child who is younger than Jaeli will die of malaria.

Malaria is a big problem for Africa. More than 300 million people catch malaria every year. That’s more than five times as many as catch tuberculosis, HIV, measles and leprosy put together. And of these, 1 million people will die of the disease.

But malaria should be really easy to prevent because we know that it’s spread by the female mosquito, an insect that feeds on blood. So if you sleep under a net covered in chemicals that keep mosquitoes away, they can’t bite you and you won’t catch the disease.

You can also take tablets that stop you getting the disease if you are bitten, but these cost too much for many African families. And if you do catch it, you need to take the medicine as soon as possible – which is why Josué and Jaeli were lucky to have a mum who knew exactly what to do!