Pregnant women and young children under age 5 are the most vulnerable to malaria, a disease caused by a parasite spread throught the bite of a mosquito.

SENEGAL, Africa – A thin layer of insecticide-treated netting can be all that’s required to separate life and death and offer protection from one of the most dangerous insects on the planet – a mosquito.

In fact, the tiny insect often carries malaria, a disease caused by a parasite that is transmitted into the bloodstream when bitten and rampant in countries such as Africa and throughout Asia.  

It is particularly fatal for those most vulnerable – pregnant women and young children under age 5. Every 30 seconds a child under five dies from malaria, claiming the lives of more than 1 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa each year.

Last August, Operation Blessing launched a global campaign, Join the Net, with the goal of raising enough funds to purchase and distribute 100,000 nets to families living in high-risk regions.

Already, mosquito net distributions have taken place in Myanmar and Somalia. Today, more nets are being distributed in Senegal to offer a lifesaving barrier for vulnerable families.

About $10,000 worth – or 4,500 insecticide-treated nets – will be distributed, with the help of local churches and Ministry of Health volunteers in a suburb of Dakar.

About $10,000 worth – or 4,500 insecticide-treated nets – will be distributed, with the help of local churches and Ministry of Health volunteers to a target population of pregnant women and young children ages 1 to 5 living in a suburb of Dakar, where the total population is about 32,000.

"The president of the local health committee announced that he sees OBI as a strong partner in the fight against malaria," said David Darg, deputy director of international programs for OBI. "This will be the pilot project for what we hope to replicate in several other parts of Africa."

Once families receive the nets, they are trained on how to use and maintain them. OBI will also follow up with the families to conduct impact studies and see how the nets are functioning and if more are needed in that area.

For more information about the Join the Net campaign, visit www.ob.org/jointhenet.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Be a part of OBI's ongoing medical relief efforts by making an online contribution to help those suffering from extreme poverty and sickness.

 

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