Grace Phiri, National Health Coordinator for ERD partner Zambian Anglican Council, conducting an evaluation with the community malaria control team in Fiwila, Zambia. (Copyright ERD 2005)
On this Maundy Thursday, consider well one way in which we can show our love for one another as Jesus commanded us to do.
This information comes from the Episcopal Relief and Development's web site.
Malaria: Prevention and Control
Malaria is a serious and often fatal disease caused by a parasite. It has far-reaching implications for both the health of individuals and for the development of nations.
The World Health Organization estimates that each year 300-500 million cases of malaria occur – 90% of them in Sub-Saharan Africa, where children under the age of five are dying from malaria at a rate of nearly 3,000 each day.
Malaria is a leading cause of death and disease worldwide, especially in developing countries, and kills 1 million people each year, with most deaths being vulnerable young children. In Africa, malaria causes approximately 20% of all child deaths.
Because malaria causes so much illness and death, the disease is a great drain on many national economies. It costs Africa US$10-12 billion every year in gross domestic product even though it could be controlled for a fraction of that sum. Since many countries with malaria are already among the poorer nations, the disease maintains a vicious cycle of disease and poverty.
ERD is working with partners in malaria-affected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to:
* Educate communities about malaria.
* Provide long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets and effective drug therapies. Ninety thousand people have been positively impacted by these five-year malaria nets.
* Create sustainable systems of malaria prevention within communities through local clergy and community leaders
