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'NetsforLife' a sign of hope in fighting killer disease
ERD set to launch 'nets' second phase
So are bishops, expressing interest in ERD's "NetsforLife" malaria education and prevention program, which partners with churches and other agencies in 16 African countries, including Panzo's homeland, Angola. "So many people have visited the booth, taking brochures and cards. They are amazed that so many people die from malaria," a preventable and curable disease, Panzo said on July 30.
"When I started using the net I realized this is a good program and it is so important for us as Africans," says Panzo, who has malaria. "You can't imagine how many people die … from malaria. This program is really helping many families, many lives. Many pregnant females are not having a good life, good health, so this is really very important."
Malaria is caused by a parasite, transmitted via mosquito bites, which kills 3,000 children daily in Africa. The majority of the estimated 300-500 million new cases reported yearly -- about 90 percent -- occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
Churches empower communities
Malaria is the number one cause of death among children under five, says Bishop Andre Soares of Angola, where the church has partnered with ERD since 2006 to combat the disease. Malaria affects at least 1.4 million Angolans, including about 484,000 children under five.
Since then, NetsforLife has distributed more than 56,000 nets and impacted more than 207,000 people in the Angolan provinces of Uige and Cunene, according to the ERD website. But, Soares, while happy with the efforts, hopes to expand the program. "We are in two provinces, but we have 18 provinces altogether," he said.
In Eastern Zambia, where an estimated 86 percent of the people live in poverty and life expectancy is 40 years, malaria is responsible for 40 percent of the deaths among children under five and 20 percent of deaths among pregnant women. In 2002, there were 2 million reported cases of malaria; nearly 700,000 of them were children under five.
Bishop William Muchombo of Eastern Zambia said his diocese also partners with ERD through local health centers and "the program has seen a reduction in the malaria prevalence in places where we are working.
"Our first target was women with children under five years of age, followed by people who are chronically ill and then senior citizens," he said. "With this program people, especially children under five, have been saved. Because of this program we see that we are better in reducing the death rates among the children."
Bishop Dinis Sengulane of Lebombo in southern Mozambique said malaria is endemic to his entire country. Almost one-fourth, or 5 million of Mozambique's 19.6 million people, have malaria, according to the ERD website.
"In 2002, we started the program which was bringing together all the segments of society in Mozambique, called Roll Back Malaria (RBM), which Sengulane co-chairs, and which partners with NetsforLife.
"You can't talk about poverty without talking about malaria, at least in our area," he said. "You can't talk about infant mortality or child-care without talking about malaria. We started making a lot of noise when we realized malaria is a disease of poor countries."
Thus far, about 59,000 nets have been distributed and "the impact has been very visible. But," he added, "the needs are still so great I wish we had 5 million mosquito nets instead of 50,000."
While Botswana is less affected than some other countries, Bishop Trevor Mwamba of Botswana in the Anglican Province of Central Africa said offering anti-malaria education and prevention programs are part "of the national goals of health for everybody. It is a community service that hasn't been here before."
There were approximately 28,000 reported cases of malaria in Botswana in 2002, according to the website. "We are doing it together with ERD and also in the context of our own ministry as a diocese and a church in helping communities."
Second phase: five million nets over five years
NetsforLife Executive Director Shaun Walsh said the free nets are distributed to targeted communities while local leaders are trained to go out and provide education and prevention assistance.
"We go to the church to reach out to the women in the community because our main focus is children under five years old and pregnant and lactating women. They are the ones who are most vulnerable to malaria," he said. "Basically, we're trying to empower the church to help others. We identify leaders [and] train them to help other neighboring dioceses."
Prevention is key. "We help mobilize the community to look for ways to help prevent malaria. If they're next to water that is standing still that is a breeding ground for malaria, we help them to deal with that. It's working with the community to also be part of the solution."
As of June 2008, the program had distributed nearly 800,000 nets and affected about 9.8 million people both directly and indirectly. "When we say indirect, regarding malaria prevention, each person educated tells three other people, according to our program evaluation. So the bottom line is that the message is spread to 10 million people over the three-year period," he said. "It's a massive undertaking the Church in Africa has taken on."
When ERD realizes its original goal, to distribute 1 million nets to 15 countries by the end of September, it will set a new one: distribute 5 million nets over five years in a total of 18 countries, added Walsh, who next month will relocate operations to New York, rather than the United kingdom.
Walsh said he had also met with many bishops whose dioceses are affected by malaria.
"If they can support NetsforLife and empower people to reach out to the community we can do an incredible amount of more work through the church," he said. "It is a testimony to the church. The issue for us is: how can we respond to those appeals through the church in Africa, because people are dying."
ERD also hosted a self-select session for bishops attending the Lambeth Conference at 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 31. The workshop on "Community Development Where the Church is a Minority" featured speakers Bishop Mano Rumalshah of Peshawar, Pakistan and Bishop Saw (John) Wilme of Tounggou, Myanmar.
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