Prevent Malaria in Sierra Leone with Mosquito Nets

Dear Project Supporters, 

Thanks to your generous donations, over 200 bed nets were distributed to families in Freetown, Kamawornie, Bo, Liberia, and Cameroon in 2017.  These bed nets are providing families with protection from malaria while they sleep.   Our goal is to provide even more bed nets to families in 2018.  We want to change the statistics below.

According to the CDC:

Africa is the most affected due to a combination of factors:

• A very efficient mosquito (Anopheles gambiae complex) is responsible for high transmission.
• The predominant parasite species is Plasmodium falciparum, which is the species that is most likely to cause severe malaria and death.
• Local weather conditions often allow the transmission to occur year-round.
• Scarce resources and socio-economic instability have hindered efficient malaria control activities.

Malaria is one of the most severe public health problems worldwide. It is a leading cause of death and disease in many developing countries, where young children and pregnant women are the groups most affected. According to the World Health Organization’s World Malaria Report 2013 and the Global Malaria Action Plan

• 3.2 billion people (half the world’s population) live in areas at risk of malaria transmission in 106 countries and territories
• In 2016, malaria caused an estimated 216 million clinical episodes and 445,000 deaths. An estimated 91% of deaths in 2016 were in the WHO African Region.

The most vulnerable are persons with no or little immunity against the disease. In areas with high transmission (such as Africa south of the Sahara), the most vulnerable groups are:

• Young children, who have not yet developed partial immunity to malaria
• Pregnant women, whose immunity is decreased by pregnancy, especially during the first and second pregnancies
• Travelers or migrants coming from areas with little or no malaria transmission, who lack immunity.

Will you help us fight this health epidemic in 2018?  We are striving to provide more bed nets to families in need and we are additionally providing diagnosis and treatment of malaria. We are convinced that together we will one day see a world with no malaria.  

Thank you so much for your support.  Please make your best end of year donation today!

With great appreciation,

The Develop Africa Team

Links:

• CDC- Malaria Worldwide