I’m angry.

A detestable and reprehensible disease preys on the most vulnerable in society.

Malaria.

Nearly 3.3 billion people are at risk of contracting malaria in 106 countries.

That’s half of humanity.

Don’t believe me? How about some stats from malarianomore.org:

• In the year 2009, Malaria took 780,000 lives.
• 85 percent of malaria deaths globally were children under age 5.
• Every 45 seconds, a child dies from malaria.

As I discussed malaria with friends, the same question kept surfacing in my mind:

Why are we not more upset about this?

We hear about diseases and war ravaging continents, but why are we overlooking the disease brought by a tiny mosquito? Is it because malaria is not trendy enough? Maybe it feels too big and broad.

There is good news, though.

Malaria is a preventable disease! A mosquito net can be the difference between life and death. And we are indeed making progress. Our “Bite Back” campaign is part of that progress.

The theme for World Malaria Day 2011, which is today, is “Achieving Progress and Impact.” It’s a time to celebrate the victories of the past couple of years, but also to stress the great needs in order to reach near-zero deaths by 2015.

It’s OK to get angry. But don’t just get angry. Act.

So today is World Malaria Day. What are you doing about it?

LINK UP: If you’ve written a post (past or present) about the issue of malaria in general, or the work we’re doing in the fight against malaria, please link up with us so we can all benefit. Thanks.

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This is the home of Amina, a toddler enrolled in the local Child Survival Program (CSP). At the back of the homestead lies waste from the nearby kitchen. On the other side of the home are thick bushes of indigenous trees.

As the CSP specialist visited the mother, mosquito bites could be noted on the face of the child. Throughout the session, the TEEEE! TEEEE! sound of mosquitoes could be heard.

In some countries, mosquitoes are just nuisance, but in Riaciina, mosquitoes pose a deadly threat. Mosquito-borne malaria is the major killer disease in the area.

Riaciina village lies in the semi-arid part of Kenya on the extreme southern slopes of the largest mountain in Kenya, Mount Kirinyaga. The occupants are mainly the Ambeere and the Akaamba people whose primary work is farming and fishing.

On the lower side of the community lies the River Tana, the longest river in Kenya. The areas surrounding the river are dumpy and bushy – a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The infestation of the parasites is especially heavy along the riverbanks during rainy season.

Community members cannot escape the mosquitoes, as this is their only water source. Poor sanitation and disposal of kitchen wastes has also increased the mosquito breeding areas. The area has high maternal and infant mortality rates due to malaria-related complications.

According to a report from a nearby dispensary, an estimated 11 percent of mothers die before childbirth, while about 20 percent of children die before 5 years of age due to severe malaria. Lack of adequate food due to poverty, especially during the dry season, and malnutrition have led to low immunity. A survey by the local health officials shows that there has been an increase in the number of malaria cases and deaths reported in the previous year.

The living standard of the community members is low. Many children rarely attend school and the majority of adults are illiterate. Over 70 percent of the entire adult population is jobless. Those who find casual jobs bring home an average of $1.25 per day. This amount of money cannot provide for a large family’s daily meal.

An average mosquito net, which can greatly reduce cases of malaria, costs $3.25. The caregivers cannot afford to buy mosquito nets for all their children.

AIDS is also on the rise in the community. The pandemic has left many children either homeless or under the care of their aged grandparents. These children are exposed to malaria infection since the poor caregivers either cannot afford or have no knowledge of the importance of using insecticide treated mosquito nets (ITNS). Due to their illiteracy, the caregivers have no basic knowledge on malaria preventive measures either.

More than 50 percent of the malaria-associated deaths in the region are the result of less effective antimalarial drugs, poor management and improper diagnosis, and lack of knowledge by the primary caregivers on the importance of early disease interventions.

Some villagers use indigenous plants to create herbal remedies for the treatment of malaria. The herbs and leaves are boiled to form a colored liquor. They have no knowledge on actual dosages; therefore, most of those using the drug are referred to main hospitals with complicated severe malaria. Those who cannot afford transport to main hospitals die as a result.

In 2008, little Amina was admitted to the hospital twice with severe malaria. As a Compassion-assisted child, she was able to receive much-needed treatment and her medical bills were covered by the program. Through malaria education, provision of mosquito nets and removal of the nearby bushes, the child is now healthy and free from malaria.

Tragically, Amina’s sister was not so fortunate.

In 2007, Amina’s elder sister Joyce was 3 years old when she contracted malaria. Joyce had been running a fever and was very weak. Her mother, Agnes, took her to a nearby dispensary. The child was unconscious; her body temperature was high and she had severe febrile convulsions.

According to Agnes, Joyce’s initial treatment was a traditionally prepared herbal remedy that lacked exact doses. Agnes collected herbs and administered them to her daughter without knowing that it would be the last time little Joyce would ever drink the herbal medicine.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s guidelines for the integrated management of childhood illnesses, the child had severe malaria and therefore required urgent referral to a hospital. The family could not afford transport to the far distant hospital. The nearby Kenyan dispensary lacked facilities, so the helpless child died in the hands of her heartbroken mother.

This is one of the many stories in which children die of a disease that could otherwise have been prevented. Despite the tragic loss of her older daughter Joyce, Agnes is grateful that Amina is growing strong and no longer attacked by malaria.

The difference in Amina’s case was the presence of Compassion.

Our CSP staff members work tirelessly, in line with the local health officials, to ensure that the mosquito-breeding places are eradicated. Compassion strives towards this goal so that no other mothers suffer the loss of a child, as Agnes did.

The education by CSP staff on the importance of clearing the nearby bushes, use of treated mosquito nets (ITNS), use of insecticides and early interventions has made progress in reducing malaria in the region. In addition to families enrolled in the Child Survival Program, this information has also been passed to other community members.

During the CSP home-based trainings, the visiting neighbors are never left out. The use of compost pits as advocated by CSP has ensured proper disposal of kitchen waste, minimizing the number of mosquito breeding areas.

The CSP training on malaria is also extended to the pregnant mothers. Malaria is a deadly disease that has severe effects on the growing fetus. Mothers severely hit by the disease have low birth weight babies or even stillbirths as associated with plasmodia in the placenta.

Since malaria has become resistant to most of the common drugs, the government has introduced other strong antimalarial drugs. The drugs are quite efficient in the control of the disease, but are rarely affordable. The use of a sulfur drug (fansidar) during pregnancy has reduced the number of malaria cases among the CSP pregnant mothers.

Our Child Survival Program has changed the lifestyles of many families in Riaciina. A survey by the CSP staff at the end of 2009 showed that:

• More than 90 percent of the community members had compost pits where kitchen wastes are deposited and burned.
• The training on modern methods of farming has led to proper utilization of the available land; most of the bushes where mosquitoes once thrived are now cleared.
• The malaria morbidity and mortality rate among children under 5 years old is now going down progressively.

Malaria has plagued humankind since ancient times and is still a significant threat to half of the world’s population; 3.3 billion people living in 109 countries are at risk of contracting the disease. Estimates suggest that malaria afflicts between 350 and 500 million people every year. In addition, as many as 30,000 visitors to tropical countries are infected annually.

April 25 is a day of unified commemoration of the global effort to provide effective control of malaria around the world. This year’s World Malaria Day marks a critical moment in time. The international malaria community has less than a year to meet the 2010 targets of delivering effective and affordable protection and treatment to all people at risk of malaria, as called for by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon.

(Excerpt from rollbackmalaria.org)

- Counting Malaria Out: World Malaria Day 2010 Resources

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“This year’s World Malaria Day marks a critical moment in time. The international malaria community has merely two years to meet the 2010 targets of delivering effective and affordable protection and treatment to all people at risk of malaria, as called for by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon.”

- www.rollbackmalaria.org

You can help “Count Malaria Out” through our Bite Back Campaign.

Malaria begins with a bite. We believe that we can end malaria by taking a bigger bite.

Your $10 bite will purchase a bed net for a child, and that bed net can protect the child for three years.

• Donate a net.
• Visit the Bite Back Web site to learn more.

Jeff Foxworthy’s 14-year-old daughter, Jordan, is taking a bite. A huge bite. She has helped raise more than half a million dollars for Bite Back.

Oh yeah! The answer to yesterday’s malaria question is false.

Although malaria is an easily preventable disease, because of increasing drug resistance and struggling health-care systems, malaria infections in Africa have actually increased during the last three decades.

(Source: malarianomore.org, November 2008)

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Malaria, which is transmitted by infected mosquitoes, is killing one million people a year. Most of these are children under age 5 in Africa. That’s right. Malaria, which is preventable and treatable, is killing more than 750,000 children a year in Africa.

Before visiting Uganda, I never really understood how mosquitoes managed to claim so many lives. But when I visited homes there, I understood. Many of the houses don’t have doors — just sheets covering the openings. And the windows are usually bare, too. So at night, the mosquitoes help themselves.

Catherine, a single mother I met in Uganda, told me that before Compassion gave her an insecticide-treated mosquito net, she did everything she could to protect her 10-year-old daughter, Irene. But her efforts were in vain.

“Every night, I tried to cover Irene with a blanket, but she would still get bitten all night long,” said Catherine. “I wanted so badly to buy her a net, but I couldn’t afford it.”

And when Irene got malaria, Catherine certainly couldn’t afford doctors’ bills. “Before Compassion, I would go pleading to doctors for help and beg to pay later,” she said.

Thank God that Compassion intervened! Through the ministry’s Complementary Interventions Program, Irene is now getting medicine and sleeps under a quality net. Today, she’s healthy and thriving.

You can make a difference and help protect vulnerable children like Irene! Since today is World Malaria Day, take a minute to learn more about this disease and see how you can join the fight!

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Then join us for our free one-hour webcast on World Malaria Day, Friday, April 25. The webcast will begin at 10 a.m. MT (noon ET), and you must register to participate.

To register:

• Visit compassion.webex.com to register
• Or call (800) 336-7539 ext. 6673 to register for phone-only participation

Once you’re registered you will receive e-mail instructions to log on and participate in the webcast.

• Hear Compassion’s Dr. Scott Todd, Special Operations Director, and Emily Kagiri, Child Survival Ministry Director, discuss our malaria prevention and treatment strategies.
• Ask our executive team questions, including Mark Hanlon, Senior Vice President of Sponsor and Donor Development.
• Listen as Compassion artist Rebecca St. James talks about her passion for stopping malaria in Africa.

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Wednesday marks the second year that the Fox reality show takes a break from their regular programming to do something virtually unheard of on television these days — focus on something other than making money.

Idol Gives Back is an effort to raise awareness and funds for children in need around the world. Last year the event raised $76 million. This year they’re shooting for $100 million.

Whether or not Fox brings in the millions this week that they normally make on the show, the event probably does enough for their public image to make the monetary sacrifice well worth it.

Whatever their motivation, though, it’s refreshing to see the spotlight shining on those who truly need it but rarely get it — children in poverty.

Among the recipients are organizations like the Global Fund, Malaria No More, Children’s Health Fund, Children’s Defense Fund and Make It Right, Brad Pitt’s campaign to help New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina.

There will be celebrities. There will be music. There will be tears. Millions of viewers will undoubtedly be moved to donate. Some will likely be profoundly impacted by the stories they hear and the images they see. Hopefully many hearts will be softened towards the plight of children in poverty and people will do more than just give once … they will begin to get involved.

I’m just excited that for a couple hours this week, children in poverty will have a real voice. That’s really what Compassion is all about.

What do you think? Do you agree? Will you be watching?

While Compassion might not be featured on the show, we are working just as hard to fight for children in poverty. Here are a couple specific things you might like to know about:

Malaria: A Plague of the Poor
In recognition of World Malaria Day on April 25, Compassion has produced a new radio special.

AIDS
Compassion’s AIDS Initiative is focused on Africa. Yet HIV and AIDS are also significant threats to children outside of Africa and for that reason Compassion is also conducting HIV/AIDS work in non-African countries.

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