In
Sub-Saharan Africa, malaria is the largest single cause of death among
children under the age of five, killing one child every 30 seconds,
more than 800,000 per year.
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. Malaria accounts for 40
per cent of public health expenditures.
Nets Save
Insecticide-treated
bed nets (ITNs) are a form of personal protection that has repeatedly
been shown to reduce severe disease and mortality due to malaria in
endemic regions. Indeed studies show that use of insecticide-treated
bed nets can reduce transmission as much as 90% in areas with high
coverage rates.
To
maintain the efficacy of ITNs, the nets must be retreated at intervals
of 6-12 months, more frequently if the nets are washed. Re-treatment is
done by simply dipping nets in a mixture of water and insecticide and
allowing the nets to dry in a shady place. Kits for retreating nets are
available in most countries.
The
need for frequent re-treatments is one of the most difficult barriers
to full implementation of ITNs in endemic countries. The additional
cost of the insecticide and the lack of understanding of its importance
result in very low re-treatment rates in most African countries.
Several companies have developed long-lasting ITNs that theoretically
retain lethal concentrations of insecticide for the life of the net
(3-5 years).
JCI Takes Action
In
this context, based on the 2004 JCI Resolution to Advance the UN MDGs,
JCI wants to contribute to diminish the mortality rate of children
under the age of five by mobilizing its organizations in 115 countries
to raise funds to purchase and distribute ITNs, as well as to conduct
educational campaigns to teach families how to use the ITNs correctly.
At present, JCI and UNF are studying countries to deliver ITNs as well as educate the population on how to use them.
In addition, JCI and UNF will soon start working on the toolkits.
The JCI-UN Affairs Commission members Benjamin Kong (Chairman, from Hong Kong), Joseph Pheto (Botswana), Aboubakar Chekarao (Niger), Moon Seok-Kyun (South Korea), Nitin Thakkar (India), Gabriela Filippini (Argentina), Scott Kingsley (USA), Christian Letsch (Germany) and Torbjorn Berglund (Sweden)
have been working hard by delivering awareness to the countries
assigned to them and collecting funds to the campaign. Their goal is to
raise 130,000 ITNs in 2009.
