Scott Case, CEO of Malaria No More, appeared on CNN’s 360 with Anderson Cooper highlighting the work of net distribution that Ashton Kutcher and CNN funded.

New research is underway to devestate the development of wings on femal mosquitoes in order to prevent the spread of disease such a dengue fever and malaria.

Females do the biting, but if they can’t fly they can’t zoom in on their victims. They would be expected to die quickly on the ground, researchers suggest in a paper in a recent edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The real goal is to prevent mosquitoes from spreading disease, and the researchers, led by Luke Alphey of the University of Oxford, are studying ways to reduce the spread of dengue fever, found mostly in Asia, which mosquitoes carry.

The researchers, several of whom have commercial interests in the work, developed a method to genetically alter male mosquitoes, then release them to mate with females in the wild. The wing muscles of their female offspring would not develop properly, preventing them from flying. (Males don’t inherit the defect.)

Interesting work that could be expanded to help fight malaria but change the mosquito forever.

Politico ran an informative piece on the importance of women and girls to U.S. security. 

Central in the piece is the emergence of ’smart development’ that supplies carefully targeted foreign assistance to key areas.  Women and girls are often part of smart development.

International Women’s Day is celebrated around the world on March 8^th every year.  This year there is much to celebrate in terms of the political, economic and social gains that women have made in the recent past. 

But amidst generations of success and social change we can not neglect the cry of the African woman as she strives to conquer what is arguably history’s greatest killer, malaria. Women and their newborn children in Sub-Saharan Africa are still disproportionately affected by malaria. 

Malaria is taking the lives of nearly 900,000 people each year and 85% of those deaths occur in children under five.  Each year, 50 million pregnant women, vulnerable from a depressed immune system, are affected by malaria.  The heartbreaking result, low birth weights for the children, anemia and death, all due to the inherent danger of being pregnant in Africa.

The good news is that there has been significant progress made in the past few years.  Roughly 125,000 children under five in 10 different African countries have been saved due to malaria interventions between 2001 and 2007.  And we’re not done.  The world has an opportunity to end all malaria deaths by 2015 if full funding is achieved. 

Let’s make International Women’s Day five years from now one in which we can count malaria as one of the major advances the world has made in protecting pregnant women and their newborn children. 

We have struggled to achieve such remarkable strides in the past 100 years but we can not stop until all women are free from the oppression of preventable and treatable disease like malaria. Together we can stand against this scourge and realize a humanitarian victory that would never be forgotten, especially for women in Africa.

The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has issued a report on the progress made against the three diseases and what this new information means for projections of what can be accomplished by 2020. 

The data suggests that by 2015, the world can eliminate all mother to child transmission of HIV.   Additionally, important progress will be made against malaria and tuberculosis as well.

To read the entire report, click here.

Congressman William Delahunt announced that he would not be seeking re-election in 2010.  Congressman Delahunt has represented the tenth Congressional district of Massachusetts since 1997.   He serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Judiciary Commitee. 

The Congressman was also a member of the Congressional Malaria Caucus and a strong voice for malaria issues on Capitol Hill.

The Malaria Policy Center thanks him for his distinguised service to the American people, the people of Massachusetts and the cause of malaria.

Often we can throw around statistics about death rates and infection rates when talking about fighting malaria. But in those statistics we can get lost to the idea that we are working for number when in reality we are working to save a generation of humanity.

Reminded today about the toll malaria has from The Punch out of Nigeria.

The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Louisa Ukpe, has expressed worry over the rate of deaths caused by malaria among children in the country.

 

Ukpe explained that study had shown that about 300,000 children die every year in the country through malaria.

 

Speaking during a zonal training programme for faith leaders on the Fight against Malaria and the Use of Long Lasting Mosquito Nets organized by Nigerian Inter-faith Action Association in Uyo on Wednesday, Ukpe added that 4,500 pregnant women also die of malaria annually.

 

The commissioner urged Nigerians and other Africans to join hands together to fight the threat posed by malaria.

We know there is evidence that large scale net distributions are having a positive impact on malaria endemic countries in Africa, but there remain challenge. Getting families to use the net correctly, making sure the right groups of people are using the nets, and that distribution channels reach those most in need.

These remaining challenges are why Malaria No More has partnered with other organizations for our Surround Sound efforts, to raise the volume of awareness activities and make fighting malaria more of a national cause than an outsider encourage enterprise.

The Guardian is asking for thoughts on the success of net distributions to evaluate the work that is being done.

In recent years, attention from international donors has been focused on tackling this pervasive disease – not only because of the scourge it represents but because methods for preventing, diagnosing and treating malaria are already available. As a result there are a number of international targets, chief among them Millennium Development Goal 6, which includes to have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases; the Abuja Declaration targets of halving the number of deaths through malaria by 2010; and the Roll Back Malaria’s Scale Up For Impact goals of 100% mosquito net coverage.

Key among the scale-up interventions is mass distribution of mosquito nets, which offer one of the simplest and most immediately effective ways to reduce malaria infection rates. Over 175 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets have been distributed in Africa in recent years. Massive, logistically complex distribution campaigns are currently underway in many countries and in Nigeria, for example, it is hoped that cases of malaria will fall by at least 50% after the nets have been distributed.

But what is the long-term impact of mass net distribution campaigns on malaria? How can we be sure that every family who receives a net is actually using it in the right way, at the right time, or that it is being used by those who are most vulnerable? The vast majority of those affected by malaria are also struggling with poverty which can force people to prioritise who will use the net or receive the malaria treatment should an infection occur. Gender, age and possibly economic value are key deciding factors for many families. Also, what happens when the net wears out (3-5 years max) or becomes torn? How will it be replaced by a family for whom the cost or a replacement net might be the equivalent of four months income? And if a member of the family gets malaria anyway can they get the medicines they need?

So what role does mass net distribution play in the fight against malaria and how much is it providing a top-line solution for those working to meet the various goals and targets, perhaps allowing them to sidestep some of the harder issues required to achieve long term, sustainable malaria control?

Through your own research and investigative methods, you are invited to look behind this issue and write about what is really happening. Use facts to support your article.

We encourage you to take their challenge and research the success for yourself.

Dr. Rajiv Shah testified before Congress yesterday.  Dr. Shah began by giving an overview of the Haiti crisis and USAID’s swift response to that tragedy.

Dr. Shah also stressed that even in light of current disasters, USAID will not lose its overall focus.

“Recovery in Haiti will continue to be a major focus for the foreseeable future. But we will not lose sight of the important work of strengthening USAID and helping other countries achieve their development goals. Investment in development has never been more strategically important than it is today. Helping nations to grow and prosper is not only the moral obligation of a great nation; it is also in our national interest. The investments we make today are a bulwark against current and future threats – both seen and unseen – and a down payment for future peace and prosperity around the world.”

Dr. Shah also looks forward to improving on successes in AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria as well as focus on maternal and child health.

“First, global health, where we are requesting $8.5 billion in State and USAID assistance. Our request supports President Obama’s Global Health Initiative, which builds on prior U.S. international health programs and helps our 80 partner countries strengthen health systems and improve sustainable health outcomes, with a particular focus on women, children and newborns….With additional funding, we will build on our strong record of success in HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, and achieve results where progress has lagged, in areas such as obstetric care, newborn care and nutrition.”

The prospects of this continued work is encouraging and exciting.

We are reading a student oped from The Standford Daily on the Inter Faith Youth Core’s effort to fight malaria. Anand Venkatkrishnan looks more closely at the IFYC’s work.

In the context of sub-Saharan Africa, churches and mosques are often the most robust and visible organizations in rural communities. Their proximate knowledge of local situations is invaluable, and their high standing provides a natural health education and healthcare distribution platform. Hence, empowering these local community leaders to work together in common action for the common good must be a strong component of any projects related to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Perhaps the clearest indication of this potential is in light of the sixth MDG: eradicating deaths due to malaria.

Malaria is one of the most egregious killers on the planet, because it is entirely preventable. The disease is tied very closely to the other MDGs because it is so prevalent. Sub-Saharan Africa hemorrhages an estimated $12 billion USD each year in GDP through this loss of productivity, further compounding problems of poverty. Many parents have to choose between treating the infected in their family or eating. Educating women about the disease and how to protect their families increases their standing and importance in the community. Malaria touches almost all of the other MDGs. Were it to be eliminated, the other goals would be that much easier to achieve.

Mosquitoes are equal-opportunity offenders. For them, the blood of a Christian is just as sweet as that of a Muslim or an atheist or a Sikh. The Bay Area Against Malaria campaign is a collaboration this year between interfaith and malaria activists across five Bay Area campuses, raising funds and awareness for Malaria No More. Our movement all about ordinary people, of all faiths and none, doing something extraordinary. Together, we can eradicate deaths from malaria.