COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., April 24, 2007 – Compassion International <http://www.compassion.com/default.htm> has announced plans to boost its funding of malaria aid by nearly $2 million in fiscal year 2008, beginning in July.
Wednesday is Malaria Awareness Day, as designated by the White House, and Africa Malaria Day, as proclaimed by the continent’s governments.
Compassion will encourage its sponsors and donors to contribute to its new Malaria Intervention Fund. The plan is to provide Compassion-assisted children and their families with mosquito nets, malaria prevention education and access to medical treatment.
Though rare in the United States, malaria kills 1 million people a year, mostly in Africa, where it accounts for about one in five childhood deaths. The disease usually afflicts the disenfranchised in the developing world, who tend to live in poorly constructed homes that are open to malaria-infected mosquitoes.
“Compassion’s malaria program is all about saving lives; it educates our beneficiaries about prevention and treatment and aids families through the provision of long lasting insecticide treated nets,” said Amy Metzger, Compassion International Health Program Specialist. “Some of our other preventive measures include the spraying of homes for risk reduction and the clearing of environments suitable for mosquito breeding.”
Compassion’s malaria initiative works primarily in Africa because of the widespread impact the disease has had on the continent. Presently, the ministry’s program serves more than 200,000 African children and their families in the fight against malaria.
“We know malaria has enormous influence on our assisted children as each infection causes them to miss valuable days at school,” Metzger said. “Their parents are also affected by missing days at work and as a result productivity in both settings is compromised. Our program is reducing the magnitude of this unfortunate trend. By helping our beneficiaries combat malaria, we are helping them to be more productive in school and work. These are steps in the right direction that enable countries to gain momentum, becoming more economically viable and educated.”
Compassion International <http://www.compassion.com/Default.htm> is one of the world’s largest Christian child-development organizations, working with more than 65 denominations and thousands of indigenous church partners in Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Since 1952, Compassion has touched the lives of more than 1.5 million children and has been recognized for its financial integrity with top ratings and recommendations by several of the nation’s leading not-for-profit “watchdog” organizations. For information about sponsoring a child, contact Compassion online at Compassion.com <http://www.compassion.com/default.htm> or by calling (800) 336-7676, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., MST.
