Alaskans know mosquitoes, and we know nets. For us, mosquitoes are summer pests, and nets are for work and recreation….fishing, hockey, basketball, soccer, volleyball.
But in Africa, mosquitoes mean death. Nets mean life.
It is estimated that an African child has on average between 1.6 and 5.4 episodes of mosquito-borne malaria fever each year.
The common first symptoms – fever, headache, chills, and vomiting – appear 10 to 15 days after a person is infected. If not treated promptly with effective medicines, malaria can cause severe illness that is often fatal.
One in five (20%) of all childhood deaths in Africa are due to malaria.
Every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria in Africa.
Sending Nets. Saving Lives.
This entire process of purchasing and distributing insecticide-treated bed nets to children under the age of five, as well as providing education and follow-up surveying on their use, is accomplished at the cost of just $10 per bed net.
Although $10 for a bed net may not sound like much, the cost makes them out of reach for most people at risk of malaria in Africa, where many people survive on less than $1 a day. Malaria has been brought under control and even eliminated in many parts of Asia, Europe and the Americas. Yet in Africa, malaria infections have actually increased over the last three decades.
“Before I started using mosquito nets, I used to cover myself and my sons with a blanket, but we would still get bitten. It was a nightmare, at least twice every month, I would have to rush either one or both of them to the clinic, which is about 10km from my house, to seek treatment. I used to spend many sleepless nights worrying about the safety of my children as I listened to the buzzing of the nagging mosquitoes,” Felista Masinde recalls.
We are now sleeping under nets and I do not worry any more about the buzzing of mosquitoes as we sleep at night. www.amref.org
RLC has a goal of purchasing 500 nets @$10 each during the summer NETS campaign June 29-July 27.
Donations can be sent to : Resurrection Lutheran Church
740 W. 10th Street
Juneau, AK 99801
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