By Boat or by Bike, NetsforLife® Reaches Communities to End Malaria
April 23, 2014
NetsforLife®, Episcopal Relief & Development’s award-winning, flagship malaria prevention program, stands with its partners and participating communities to call for international action on World Malaria Day, April 25.
Since NetsforLife® launched in 2006, the program has distributed over 11.2 million nets and trained nearly 93,600 Malaria Control Agents. Overall, the program has reached 32 million people in 17 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. The NetsforLife® methodology has been adopted as national policy by five countries, and the program is currently targeting seven more to make this shift. As a member of CAMA (the Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa, a coalition led by GBCHealth), the program is positioned to continue its advocacy for corporate and private sector engagement in malaria prevention.
“I am extremely proud of NetsforLife®’s achievements to date, not only in the number of lives saved and protected but particularly the robust monitoring and evaluation work that allows us to demonstrate the success and impact of our entire methodology – including net hang-up, community mobilization and training and education,” said Shaun Walsh, the program’s Senior Director. “Our proven, grassroots approach to community engagement around malaria can be leveraged to tackle other critical health issues, and I am excited about the future of our programs across the area where NetsforLife® is active.”
In addition to distributing millions of mosquito nets to prevent the bites that cause this deadly disease, NetsforLife® aims to create a “net culture” where people are aware of the life-saving value of nets and repair or replace them on their own. The long-term impact of malaria prevention knowledge will help to sustain the gains made so far in reducing deaths and illness.
Over the last decade, the number of lives lost every year has fallen from 1 million to 627,000, but it will take the combined efforts of governments, corporations, communities and faith-based organizations such as Episcopal Relief & Development to finally eradicate the disease.
For more information on how Episcopal Relief & Development and NetsforLife® are working on malaria prevention in partnership with local communities across sub-Saharan Africa, please visit https://www.episcopalrelief.org/malaria. A special Power of Partnerships feature for World Malaria Day follows program coordinator George Bisoga through a day in Alunguli, a neighborhood outside Kindu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. View and share the latest infographic and badge on social media.
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Episcopal Relief & Development is the international relief and development agency of The Episcopal Church and an independent 501(c)(3) organization. The agency takes its mandate from Jesus’ words found in Matthew 25. Its programs work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Episcopal Relief & Development works closely with worldwide Church and ecumenical partners to help rebuild after disasters and to empower local communities to find lasting solutions that fight poverty, hunger and disease, including HIV/AIDS and malaria.
