April 25th is World Malaria Day, designed to draw attention with the theme; “Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria”. World Malaria Day was established in May 2007 by the 60th session of the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization. The day was established to provide “education and understanding of malaria” and spread information on “year-long intensified implementation of national malaria-control strategies, including community-based activities for malaria prevention and treatment in endemic areas.” According to the World Health Organization, approximately half the world’s population is at risk from malaria. And while malaria is a preventable and treatable disease, it still claims the life of a child every minute, with more than 90% of all malaria deaths occurring in Africa.
Investments in malaria control have created unprecedented momentum and yielded remarkable returns in the past years. In Africa, malaria deaths have been cut by one third within the last decade. However, these gains are fragile and will be reversed unless malaria continues to be a priority for global, regional and national decision-makers and donors. Despite the current economic climate, development aid needs to continue flowing to malaria control programs to ensure widespread population access to life-saving and cost-effective interventions. Long-term success will also depend on investments in on-going research and development to combat emerging threats such as parasite resistance.
In Liberia, the mango trees are full of ripe fruit, which has attracted and energized a HORDE of mosquitoes. 20 children at Christ’s Children Home have been diagnosed over the last two weeks with malaria. The children sleep under (old, deteriorating) nets to help protect them from the infected mosquito’s. Because of the lack of air flow and the intense heat; the children sometimes leave their screen doors open, and when they do shut the aging screen after coming in and out of their beds they can’t possibly keep all of the mosquito’s from entering.
All of the children have been properly treated and are now taking preventative medicine until the mosquito population declines later in the year. Malaria preventative medicine for 44 children is expensive, costing roughly $220/month, not including the staff at Christ’s Children Home. With the rainy season now upon us, there’s a huge need for these children to have new mosquito nets and to continue raising money for prevention, as it’s much more effective than curing malaria.
Please pray for our children, consider donating to My Halo Project for the many needs they have just to survive, and spread the word to help draw attention to World Malaria Day and the effect malaria has on these young children in Liberia despite the major declines in the disease globally. The only chance these children have are YOU. Together, WE can make a difference.
For more information on Christ’s Children Home and the children who need your help, please visit our website: MyHaloProject.com
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