IMAGINE NO MALARIA: Malaria's Victims are babies like this one. We must say no to malaria now.Also, malaria is disease of poverty. It immobolizes an entire family.

LEARN FACTS ABOUT IMAGINE NO MALARIA CAMPAIGN

Imagine No Malaria is an extraordinary effort of The people of The United Methodist Church to eliminate malaria as a major source of death and suffering in Africa by 2015. Just as the cross is a sign to us of God’s love, we are called to be a sign of God’s love and commitment to the world.The key to overcoming malaria’s burden is achieving sustainability, which we will accomplish through:Prevention: Distributing insecticide-treated bed nets (Nothing But Nets), and working to drain standing water where mosquitoes breed.

Education: Teaching people in rural areas how to protect themselves from mosquitoes and how to identify early symptoms of malaria…before it’s too late.Communication: Using radio and cell phones to deliver lifesaving information about malaria.Treatment: Improving existing hospitals and clinics, training community health workers and providing life-saving medicines to those in need.Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me — you did it to me.Matthew 25:40The United Methodist Church will work closely with partners like the United Nations Foundation and The Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to deliver a sustainable solution. We stand side-by-side with organizations across the globe determined to put an end to malaria as a major source of death and suffering in Africa.Still have questions? Click here for an FAQ about Imagine No Malaria.Visit the Imagine No Malaria online library for more about malaria and how we are uniting faith and works to save lives in Africa.

Resources

Videos

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Informational video 1—Beatrice Gbanga

Informational video 2—Elizabeth Clymer

Imagine No Malaria (Campaign video targeting Sierra Leone)Windows Media QuickTime

Promotional resources

Imagine No Malaria poster (New!)

Imagine No Malaria Brochure (Click here to send an email request for printed brochures for your church.)

Sunday to Save Lives bulletin inserts

Impact 100 Society Sample Speaking Points

Record of Contributions

Educational resources

Imagine No Malaria: Frequently Asked Questions

Poster—10 Facts About Malaria

Poster—United Methodist Response to Malaria

Publicity materials

2008 Nothing But Nets Annual Report

Malaria Parasites and HostsDecember 2nd, 2009 Posted by Jonathan Shradar
As if we needed to be convinced… new research is revealing that the malaria parasite has a great ability to “outwit” immune systems by hiding in the walls of blood vessels and by avoiding the spleen – a death trap for the parasite.
The malaria parasite infects healthy red blood cells, where it reproduces. The P. falciparum parasite produces a family of molecules, called PfEMP1, that are inserted into the surface of the infected red blood cells.
The cells become sticky and stick to the walls of blood vessels in tissues. This not only stops the cells being flushed through the spleen, where the parasites would be obliterated by the immune system of the body, but also restricts blood supply to important organs.
Each parasite has ‘recipes’ for about 60 different types of PfEMP1 molecule in its genes. However, the exact recipes vary from one parasite to the other. Hence every new infection may hold a set of molecules that the immune system has not earlier come across.
Dr George Warimwe and team from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)-Wellcome Trust Programme and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, have revealed that the parasites get used to their molecules depending on which antibodies it meets in the host’s immune response.
Recognizing the “sticky” characteristics of this parasite gives us further reason to prevent its spread – through the use of prevention tools like insecticide-treated bed nets and environmental control.

BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION HAS DONE AN EXCEPTIONAL JOB ON MALARIA FIGHT

Our Approach: Malaria
We work with partners around the world and support efforts to speed malaria research, expand access to life-saving drugs and prevention methods, and advocate for greater action in the following ways:
Develop malaria vaccines and other new prevention strategies.We’re funding research to discover, develop, and clinically test malaria vaccines, which could have a significant impact on the health of infants, children, and pregnant women. We also support the discovery, development, and clinical testing of other prevention strategies. For example, Intermittent Preventive Treatment for infants (IPTi) protects infants from infection by giving an anti-malarial drug at the time of routine vaccinations.
Develop new malaria drugs.New medicines are essential because of the potential development of resistance to current malaria drugs. That’s why we’re funding the discovery, development, and clinical testing of more effective and affordable drugs, as well as drugs that can be used safely to treat malaria during pregnancy. In addition, we aim to develop drugs that could be used to interrupt transmission of the disease.
Develop improved methods for mosquito control.We’re supporting the development and delivery of methods to prevent mosquitoes from transmitting malaria from human to human. These include more effective pesticides designed to overcome or avoid resistance, new forms of residual pesticide spraying and strategies for monitoring their use, and insecticide-treated bed nets that provide inexpensive and lasting protection against mosquitoes.
Expand access and funding for malaria control.We support initiatives like The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which plays a leading role in providing funds to countries for bed nets and effective drug treatments. We also support the government of Zambia’s ambitious national effort to expand malaria control and to share the lessons learned with other countries. In addition, we’re developing innovative financing mechanisms for product introduction and adoption, and addressing obstacles to product procurement and distribution.
Develop public awareness about malaria and advocate for effective research and control.Greater political commitment, funding, and coordination are critical for making progress on these issues. To address this, we’re helping to build awareness among decision makers and the public, and working to advocate for effective malaria research and control. We support the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, the global body of coordination, collaboration, and advocacy, committed to providing a global approach to fighting malaria.

Johannesburg — Growing up in Cameroon, Joseph-Antoine Bell and his friends used to think that by playing football they could get rid of malaria.
"Like showering and breathing, malaria, for us was part of living. When you felt a bit bad, you went to the ground to play, hoping the malaria would go away."
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A member of Cameroon's national team at three World Cups, Bell survived growing up in a malaria-endemic area; he now sees his childish-ken of football curing the disease materialising into a very real possibility. The "African Goalkeeper of the Century" has joined his winning hands with the United Against Malaria (UAM) campaign.
The UAM aims to leverage the world's love affair with the beautiful game towards forming alliances with football players, their teams, sport officials, governments and fans, towards the goal of ending malaria in Africa.
The 2010 Soccer World Cup, which will be held in Africa for the first time, presents a solid opportunity for raising mass awareness of - and taking action against - malaria.
Every thirty seconds, a child in Africa dies of malaria.
During the ninety minutes each game of the World Cup will last, an average of 180 children will lose their lives to a disease that is both preventable and treatable.
"Ninety percent of all global malaria-related deaths occur in Africa, and of that, 85 percent are children under the age of five," said Herve Verhoosel, external relations manager for the Roll Back malaria Partnership, a founding member of UAM.
This children-killer is a driver of poverty on the continent and costs at least 12 billion dollars in direct losses, putting the brakes on economic growth, Verhoosel said.
"The world promised Africa that it would end all deaths by malaria in 2015. This is the target," said Christina Vilupti-Barrineau, campaign manager for the UAM.
So how can football fever end malarial fever?
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"Football is religion. Footballers are heroes on this continent and across the world. When they speak, people will listen," said Vilupti-Barrineau.
Additionally, sport is seen as a promulgator of healthy living, she said.
Bell explains. "Football is the most powerful example of building co-operation and building a team to win. It's not only about the players; it's also the spectators and officials. Everyone contributes to a good game. Through football we can reach everybody, involve them, make them feel important and get people thinking about what they can do to help fight malaria," he said.
Governments are beginning to see how this association can work. "We had a meeting in Ghana with ministers and officials, and the country's minister of sport could not attend because he was down with malaria," said Vilupti-Barrineau. "I told delegates thereafter that it was the best 'speech' he could've made. After that, we had all the ministers on board, promising to sleep under bed-nets."
Alongside the likes of Bell and U.S. stars Landon Donovan and Abby Wambach, UAM has chosen Charles Ssali, a 12-year-old Ugandan footballer, as one of its ambassadors.
Ssali, a malaria survivor, is on the global UAM launch tour, sharing his message in New York, Brussels and Addis Ababa among other cities.
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His football skills have seen him play in tournaments in Sweden and Denmark, but he might never have lived to see so much of the world through football had he not survived malaria at the age of four. Ssali now sleeps under a bed-net and encourages his team mates and people he meets to do the same.
Malaria can be recurring and Bell said it affected his playing much later on. He put more emphasis, however, on the impact the disease had on his learning as a child. Malaria is the number one cause of absenteeism in endemic areas, impeding on providing universal primary education as a millennium development goal.
"When I was a kid and suffered from malaria, I couldn't go to school. This is why it's important to fight this. It means less days at school, maybe lesser success and maybe a different route."
Of the children who survive cerebral malaria, more than 200,000 per year develop cognitive disabilities later in life, said Vilupti-Barrineau. "This means you're losing those who could have gone on to become heroes like Joseph [-Antoine Bell], like Charles [Ssali]," she said.
Despite an increase in malaria prevention and treatment funding over the last five years, there are still significant gaps in the regions most affected by the disease.
According to the Global Malaria Action Plan, the funding shortfall between 2007 and 2009 was $1.6 billion.
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The estimated funding available to fight malaria in Africa in 2010 will be approximately $2.68 billion.
Bell and Vilupti-Barrineau made strong calls for African leaders to take responsibility.
"Africa doesn't just suffer from one disease. Just because we're fighting malaria doesn't mean we've forgotten about fighting corruption. If we don't treat corruption, then the money will not go towards malaria. We need to see results, the same way countries expect their football teams to produce results," Bell said.
For the first time, UAM's African corporate partners will donate money to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. They include the likes of Coca Cola Africa, synthetic fuel manufacturer Sasol, and continental cellphone giants MTN.
Other UAM partners are already part of the fight against malaria. Tanzanian textile manufacturers A to Z make life-saving insecticide-treated nets; Sumitomo Chemicals produce the WHO-approved treatment used on the nets, as well as a range of other long-lasting insecticides.
South Africa-based fast food chain Nando's has undertaken to promote a bracelet campaign that will roll out in January of next year.
Handmade by women in the Western Cape township of Khayelitsha as part of an employment project for people affected with HIV/AIDS, one dollar from the purchase of every bracelet will go towards the fund.
Relevant Links
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"This is really a historic moment and a monumental contribution. By the end of next year, we aim to donate $1 million to the Global Fund," said Chris Thorpe, Nando's general manager.
Other corporate partners such as MTN, DSTV channels MNet and Supersport each have their own specialised campaigns to promote awareness.
Big Brother Africa producers Endemol undertook to include UAM in the popular reality show, by bringing Ssali onto the show to discuss malaria and make appeals for funding.
It was markedly popular among viewers, and one sms sent in to the show declared, "Charles for President.".
When asked about the possibility afterwards, Ssali said he'd much rather play football.
Read comments. Write your own.
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KNOW FACT ABOUT MALARIA NOW AND HELP FIGHT THIS PREVETABLE AND BEATABLE DISEASE OF POVERTY

Malaria is a deadly mosquito-borne disease that affects millions each year in Africa and around the world:
Nearly one million people die from malaria each year, mostly children younger than five years old.
There are an estimated 250 million cases of malaria each year.
Although the vast majority of malaria cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa, the disease is a public-health problem in more than 109 countries in the world, 45 of which are in Africa.
Approximately 3.3 billion people live in areas where malaria is a constant threat.
90% of all malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
Malaria costs an estimated $12 billion in lost productivity in Africa.
When insecticide-treated nets are used properly by three-quarters of the people in a community, malaria transmission is cut by 50%, child deaths are cut by 20%, and the mosquito population drops by as much as 90%.
It is estimated that less than 5% of children in sub-Saharan Africa currently sleep under any type of insecticide-treated net.

SUCCESS STORIES ABOUT MALARIA FROM ZAMBIA

The Kapirera family used to be regular visitors at the Mombe Health Center. The mother would bring her children in so often with malaria that when they stopped coming, the clinic went to check on them to see if they were OK. They’re fine – they just don’t get malaria any more.
In Zambia, cases of deaths from malaria have fallen by two-thirds. These results are due to the work of clinical staff like Ignicious Bulongo, who runs the Mombe Health Center.
Last September Bulongo and his colleagues organized the distribution of bed nets to 6,000 houses in the community, as well as spraying them with mosquito repellent known as RDT. The results have been staggering; hardly anyone shows up at the clinic with malaria.
“After the intervention they have stopped coming to the health center and we’ve made a follow-up. We’ve gone to visit them. They are healthy. We are just monitoring if they need to be given more mosquito nets in future,” says Bulongo.
Fewer patients means more time to educate the community on the importance of using the bed nets – and countering any misapprehensions. “When we were spraying, cockroaches would come out, so some people perceived there were more cockroaches with RDT spraying,” says Bulongo. He and his colleagues explained that another kind of bug control is needed to kill cockroaches. As well as having more time to advise on malaria prevention, clinic staff are now more able to focus their resources on other forms of illness.

Despite numerous success stories, we must pause and recognize the enormous challenge presented to us in combating malaria. In Liberia, malaria still accounts for more than 70% of infant mortality deaths. According to local government officials, the disease is endemic and prevention efforts have been feeble at best. A 2009 survey by the National Malaria Control reported that 53% of home lack a bed net and only 47% of household even have access to a net.
Statistics like these remind us of the uphill battle malaria and other third world diseases present and the large challenges that still stand in our way. With funding and the implementation of programs and creating jobs and infrastructure to support these local communities, the people have a greater chance for survival.

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Sunday, December 6, 2009

Malaria's Victims are babies like this one. We must say no to malaria now.Also, malaria is disease of poverty. It immobolizes an entire family.

No comments: