After generous rains, mosquitoes have been plentiful in hot and humid southern Ontario. Imagine the horror if they could threaten death.
Malaria remains a devastating disease worldwide where 3,000 people die every day. “That is a tsunami every month,” says Martin Edlund, the Senegal country director for the organization Malaria No More. “This is a 9/11 every day.” And yet, malaria is entirely preventable. Surprisingly simple and inexpensive interventions, such as sleeping underneath a bed net that keeps the mosquitoes out, can drastically reduce infection rates.
"Globally, malaria represents a staggering burden. More than 3 billion people—half the world’s population—are at risk of developing malaria, and the disease kills a child every 40 seconds. The toll is particularly devastating in Africa, where the disease costs the continent $12 billion a year. These numbers have made malaria a major priority on the global health agenda. One of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, set in 2000, is to stop the spread of malaria by 2015. The world public health community has pledged to end malaria deaths in Africa by that year."
Organizations that have raised money for bed nets include Spread the Net which supplied nets for 2.5 million children.
Meanwhile, "in Dakar, Senegal 15,000 people waited in a soccer stadium for the Senegalese singing sensation Youssou N’dour to take the stage. N’dour was there to perform his new song, “Xeex Sibbiru.” The song—whose title translates “Fight Malaria” in Wolof—was to be the new anthem for a nationwide fight against the disease that has decimated the country."
Malaria No More is currently running a national, American Idol-style concert to find the best amateur Senegalese singer-songwriter with an original song about malaria. Such a competition has attracted the attention of the younger generation. A Twitter campaign with Ashton Kutcher has also yielded results.
Thanks to the work of MNM, 30 million mothers and children in Africa now have mosquito nets.
