Malaria continues to be the leading cause of child mortality globally and deaths due to malaria continue to be unacceptably high. It can destroy livelihoods and weaken already fragile health systems. However, there is good news on the malaria prevention front. A new malaria vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, is 80% effective, as compared to the current malaria vaccine whose efficacy is 30%, and was authorized by the World Health Organization last year. The new vaccine has the potential to save millions of lives especially that of young children. Late-stage testing is underway in Burkina Faso, Mali, Kenya, and Tanzania and initial results look promising. Ghana has approved the vaccine even before approval by the WHO as African countries do not want to be the last to receive vaccines as in the case of the COVID vaccine. Once approved by the WHO, the Serum Institute of India is ready to manufacture 2 million of doses at just a few dollars per dose.

Our response: Our dream is for malaria to be eradicated. To achieve this goal, over the period February/March 2023 (peak malaria season), 4,000 long lasting insecticide nets and education was provided to adults and children vulnerable to malaria in rural and urban Zambia. Regular use of these 4,000 nets will keep 8,000 adults/16,000 young children malaria free as each net can sleep up to 2 adults/four children.

Next Steps: At this time, we are raising funds to provide a total of 15,000 long lasting insecticide treated nets and education to benefit more than 55,000 children or 25,000. Help make this a reality by donating generously. Every dollar counts. And, as always, 100% of your donations go towards programs and no part is used for overheads.

Thank you for giving the gift of health to thousands of adults and children vulnerable to malaria.