World Malaria Day – April 25
Eradicating malaria no longer a distant dream: Australian campaign to get mosquito nets to every child in danger
SYDNEY, 23 April 2010 – On the eve of World Malaria Day, new figures have revealed major progress in eradicating the disease which is killing a child every 30 seconds in sub-Saharan Africa alone.
In the last two years nearly 200 million insecticide treated nets, which is the best defence against mosquitoes, have reached children in African countries plagued by malaria. Yet there is a critical funding shortfall that is threatening the goal of giving a mosquito net to every child that needs one by the end of this year – that is a further 150 million nets.
And now Australians can literally ‘play’ their part in rolling back malaria after UNICEF Australia released a new viral social media game (in which the player attempts to swat as many mosquitoes as possible in 30 seconds) in a bid to raise awareness and funds to kill off malaria which kills a million people in Sub-Saharan Africa every year.
“We want all Australians to join the Swat Team and kill as many ‘virtual’ mosquitoes as they can and then challenge their friends and family to beat their score,” UNICEF Australia spokesman, Martin Thomas, said.
“We trust this will also generate critical funds to buy mosquito nets for children who need them. For these children a mosquito net can literally be the difference between life and death.”
A report published in the lead up to World Malaria Day reveals that worst trouble spot for malaria, Africa, is making major progress in rolling back the disease.
It reveals a 10-fold increase in global malaria funding to nearly $1.8 billion in 2009, a five-fold increase in global production of insecticide-treated nets to 150 million and more than a 30-fold increase in the procurement of other anti-malaria therapies to 160 million.
This year marks the ten-year mark of the Roll Back Malaria campaign, which aims to achieve universal coverage by 2010, near-zero deaths by 2015 and the eventual gradual elimination of malaria.
UNICEF, which is a founding member of the Roll Back Malaria partnership, is the largest distributor of mosquito nets in the world.
To join the UNICEF Swat Team and see how many malaria-carrying mosquitoes you can kill go to www.unicefswatteam.com.au
About UNICEF
UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
For more information, please contact:
Martin Thomas, UNICEF Australia
0401 332 399
mthomas@unicef.org.au
Martha Tattersall, UNICEF Australia
0421 570 393
mtattersall@unicef.org.au