German gift will buy nets for Africa
Domingos Antonic lies dying of malaria at the provincial hospital in Malanje, Angola.
A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose. |
A UMNS Report
By Michelle Scott*
Feb. 16, 2009
|
Sam Dixon
|
A gift of approximately $130,000 from the United Methodist Germany
Central Conference will provide mosquito nets in a national net
campaign to take place in Sierra Leone next November.
The gift to Nothing But Nets builds on the conference’s long-standing relationship in Sierra Leone.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief and other United Methodist
representatives met with the Ministry of Health in Sierra Leone in
early February to discuss the upcoming national net campaign as a way
to combat malaria in the West African country.
“UMCOR and the church in Sierra Leone are deeply appreciative of the
generosity of the United Methodists in Germany and to the visionary
leadership in mission of Bishop Rosemarie Wenner,” said Sam Dixon,
UMCOR’s top executive and the executive overseeing global health for
the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. “This is an excellent
example of how United Methodists join hands in response to God's
mission of health and healing.”
Malaria, a major health problem in Sierra Leone, is one of the main
reasons people come to the Kissy United Methodist Hospital in Freetown.
The need is so great that the hospital has difficulty keeping nets and
malaria medicines in stock. “Nothing is sufficient,” said Henrietta
Emmanuel, who directs Kissy’s malaria program.
Kissy Hospital and six rural clinics all participate in the
Community-Based Malaria Control Program launched by UMCOR Health in
2005. The program educates communities about malaria and provides
medicines and nets when they are available.
The national net campaign will help fill some of this great need by
providing families with mosquito nets—many of which will be purchased
using the Germany Conference’s donation to Nothing But Nets.
Nothing But Nets is a United Methodist-endorsed project that supplies
mosquito nets and training on how to use them. This project is operated
through the United Nations Foundation, which uses its network
established through the Measles Project to distribute nets and
training. For $10, a net and training on how to use it will be donated
through the United Nations' network. UMCOR’s Community-Based Malaria Control Program provides
communities with comprehensive plans to combat malaria that are
tailored to their specific needs. This initiative includes community
training on basic measures to prevent sickness, offers free or low cost
medications and provides consultations to those who are ill or who are
especially vulnerable to malaria. The program also provides insecticide
treated nets to pregnant women and families with young children.
You can give to help stop malaria. Checks can be dropped in
collection plates at local United Methodist churches or mailed directly
to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. Write the Advance number
and name on the memo line of the check. To give to Nothing But Nets,
please use UMCOR Advance #982015. To give to Community-Based Malaria
Control, please use UMCOR Advance #982009. For credit card donations,
visit UMCOR's web site at www.umcor.org for online giving information or call (800) 554-8583.
*Scott is executive secretary of communications for the United Methodist Committee on Relief.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Slideshow
Covering a family: providing nets to fight malaria
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Resources
Community-based malaria control
Nothing But Nets Campaign
Malaria Initiatives
Kissey United Methodist Hospital
United Methodist Committee on Relief | 
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