Bishop Joao Somane Machado of Mozambique says that education and communication is part of the cure for malaria. A UMNS Photo by John Goodwin.

Fight against malaria
can be won

by Linda Bloom

Bishop Joao Somane Machado sees children in Mozambique dying of malaria every day. He wants the world to pay attention.

“This is not an African issue,” said Machado. “It’s not only for poor countries. It’s global.”

The bishop and the Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the General Board of Global Ministries, spoke about United Methodism’s new initiative to combat malaria during a Nov. 1 press conference in New York. Malaria, a controllable disease, kills a child every 30 seconds.

Day particularly hopes U.S. churches will participate in the new initiative. “No one, absolutely no one, needs to die of malaria in the world today,” he said when the effort was introduced in August.

The press conference occurred during the opening of the Nov. 1-3 TIME Global Health Summit. The summit drew together leaders in medicine, government, business, public policy and the arts to discuss how to make real change on global health issues.

In 2004, some 4,000 children in Mozambique died from malaria. While malaria affects 40 percent of the world’s population — resulting in a million deaths a year — 90 percent of those cases can be found in sub-Saharan Africa, Day reported.

Education is key to eradicating malaria in Africa, according to Machado. Solar-powered or wind-up radios and community radio stations can help provide such education, he noted.

The United Methodist Community Based Malaria Prevention Program was to be launched in Sierra Leone in early December 2005 with participants from seven countries.

Administered through the United Methodist Committee on Relief, goals include promoting the effective use of insecticide-treated nets, preventative drugs and the control of mosquito-breeding areas. The cost can be as inexpensive as $5 for a bed net or $40 for a solar-powered radio.

Donations to Advance No. 982009, “Malaria Control,” can be made through local churches or mailed to United Methodist Committee on Relief, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068. Credit-card donations can be made by calling (800) 554-8583. A church bulletin insert can be downloaded from www.umcor.org by clicking on the “Resources” link.

Gifts to support the Africa Health Communications Initiative to provide education through community-based radio can be made through the Foundation for United Methodist Communications. Donate through the denominational Web site, www.umc.org , by clicking on “Malaria Initiative.” Gifts may also be sent to the Foundation at 810 12th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37203.

—Linda Bloom, United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.