Tomorrow (April 25) is World Malaria Day, so of course: Let's talk about it.
(This photo is from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation photo gallery.)
This is how it happens: Malaria is caused by a microscopic parasite that is carried by infected mosquitoes. When an infected mosquito bites a person, the parasite goes straight to the person's liver and begins to reproduce, then the infection is passed throughout the body through the blood stream. If the parasite arrives in the brain, cerebral malaria (which may lead to a coma and permanent neurological damage, and may be fatal) occurs.
Every 30 seconds, a child dies from malaria. Worldwide, malaria exists in 109 countries (which, combined, are home to half of the world's population) and kills a million people every year. In Africa specifically, malaria kills more children than any other disease. Overall, 90 percent of the people who die of malaria live in Africa. As is the case with so many public health issues, children are disproportionately affected by malaria.
Of course, even if a person doesn't die of malaria, there can be long-term effects just from contracting the disease. Globally, there are an estimated 350 to 500 million cases of malaria every year. Children who survive a case of cerebral malaria may suffer from long-term learning impairments or brain dysfunction. Also, malaria can cause anemia in children, which makes them more vulnerable to diarrhea, dehydration, and respiratory illnesses--which can, as we've seen in previous posts, be fatal in areas without ready access to health care, clean water, and adequate nutrition. Also, pregnant women (another high-risk population) who contract malaria have higher infant mortality rates, and their babies may be born with dangerously low birthweights.
You can imagine the toll that this disease takes on communities and nations; Africa loses an estimated $12 billion every year because of malarial infections.
One of the best-known (and simplest, and cheapest) ways to prevent malaria is to promote mosquito control initiatives. Distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets have been shown to have a remarkable effect on decreasing malaria. Technological innovation has made these nets more effective; old nets sometimes had to be re-sprayed with insecticide every six months, but the new nets are extremely effective. This, in combination with simple public health efforts such as removing standing water from the vicinity of homes (since mosquitoes breed near standing water), is crucial toward preventing malaria.
Other crucial initiatives involve improving access to drugs that treat malaria (which at present may be hard to come by, or too expensive). Other organizations are working to develop other prevention strategies (such as a malaria vaccine). The international community is working toward a goal of near-zero deaths from malaria by the year 2015. Obviously this will require concerted effort--and commentators seem divided on whether it is possible at this point--but many organizations are working toward this goal.
Recent data suggest that things are already changing, in some target countries, even faster than anyone expected. For instance, in Zambia, malaria deaths have been cut by two-thirds! And countries like like Rwanda and Ethopia are registering significant declines in their child mortality rates, attributable to the widespread distribution of bed nets.
I love these figures; I love to tell them to people who try to tell me that making donations to public health NGOs doesn't make a difference. Because if you choose your organizations wisely, your small donations really can contribute to difference-making.
If you're interested in learning more or donating to one of these organizations, here are some good ones to check out:
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Nothing But Nets
Malaria No More
Also, if you have ten seconds to spare, you can sign this proclamation indicating your support for President Obama's promise to make ending malaria a national priority in the USA.
And if you have ten dollars to spare, you can donate an insecticide-treated mosquito net to an African country (and receive a woven African bracelet as a gift).
24 April 2009
21 April 2009
Followup: Genocide Prevention Month
All right, folks. This blog has gotten a lot of hits over the past couple of weeks, but I didn't get any comments on that last post! Did any of you watch a film or read a book about genocide? Do any of you have any recommendations for me or for other blog readers? I'm working on another post about Genocide Prevention Month, but before I get there I would love to hear some input on what you are learning and thinking about. (It's okay if you don't know me; I'd love it if you introduce yourself.)
So... anyone?
So... anyone?
09 April 2009
Action: Genocide Prevention Month
April is Genocide Prevention Month. April 7 marked the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, where nearly one million people were slaughtered in three months. Other genocides have begun in April, too--the Holocaust, the Armenian genocide, the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia. Genocide Prevention Month was established in the United States to be a period of remembrance, and also a period of activism directed toward fighting the forms of genocide that are happening today.
(By the way, if you're interested in the nitty-gritty definition of genocide, click here.)
Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be putting up several posts with suggestions on how you can commemorate Genocide Prevention Month, and turn it into an opportunity for activism. This post, though, is going to focus on what I view as the heart of everything: Education. The first thing I want you to do this month is to read a book and watch a movie. Learn more about genocides that have occurred; feel it.
1) Read a book. The Genocide Prevention Project and the American Booksellers' Association have created a list of "Books of Conscience" that will give you insight into past and current conflicts and genocides. I'm going to post the list in its entirety here, but please be aware I haven't read most of these books.
ABOUT GENOCIDE
A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power
The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Simon Wiesenthal
ARMENIA
The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
Forgotten Fire by Adam Bagdasarian
A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility by Taner Akcam
BOSNIA
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo by Paula Huntley
Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic
CAMBODIA
Children of the River by Linda Crew
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung
DARFUR
Darfur: A Short History of a Long War by Julie Flint and Alex de Waal
Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival by Jen Marlowe, Aisha Bain, and Adam Shapiro
The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur by Brian Steidle, Gretchen Steidle Wallace
A Long Day's Dying: Critical Moments in the Darfur Genocide by Eric Reeves
Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond by Don Cheadle, John Prendergast
The Translator: A Memoir by Daoud Hari
THE HOLOCAUST
The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank by Anne Frank, Susan Massotty (translator)
The Drowned and the Saved by Primo Levi
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman
Night by Elie Wiesel, Marion Wiesel (translator)
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi
RWANDA
Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe by Gerard Prunier
Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda by J.P. Stassen, Alexis Siegel (translator)
Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan
Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda by Romeo Dallaire
A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali: A Novel by Gil Courtemanche
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families
Stories From Rwanda by Phillip Gourevitch
ALSO OF NOTE
What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers
Let me recommend a couple of others that aren't on this list: When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge by Chanrithy Him, and Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza.
This is why I love to read: I believe that reading breaks down the barriers between groups and peoples. It gives us the chance to see from behind someone else's eyes, to get inside their skin. It humanizes everyone, including the reader. And I like to believe that this process--of humanization and the destruction of superficial barriers--is a crucial part of creating a world where genocide is unthinkable. So do a little something to get more human: read a book of conscience this month.
2) Watch a film. A good film does the same thing as a good book; it puts you into another place and time and makes you capable of feeling what someone else feels. I'm going to list some that I can vouch for personally, and others that I haven't seen but have heard recommended. Some of these films are feature/fiction films, and some are documentaries. Some are about the genocides listed above, and others just share similar themes.
FILMS I HAVE SEEN:
Schindler's List
Hotel Rwanda
War Photographer
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Rabbit Proof Fence
Life is Beautiful
FILMS I HAVEN'T SEEN (but have heard recommended):
The Devil Came on Horseback
The Killing Fields
Sometimes in April
Darfur Now
Blessed is the Match
My Neighbor My Killer
Ghosts of Rwanda
The Diary of Anne Frank
Shake Hands With the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire
Feel free to list other recommendations of books and movies in the comments section! And if you'd like to write a book review or film review for this blog, just let me know!
(By the way, if you're interested in the nitty-gritty definition of genocide, click here.)
Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be putting up several posts with suggestions on how you can commemorate Genocide Prevention Month, and turn it into an opportunity for activism. This post, though, is going to focus on what I view as the heart of everything: Education. The first thing I want you to do this month is to read a book and watch a movie. Learn more about genocides that have occurred; feel it.
1) Read a book. The Genocide Prevention Project and the American Booksellers' Association have created a list of "Books of Conscience" that will give you insight into past and current conflicts and genocides. I'm going to post the list in its entirety here, but please be aware I haven't read most of these books.
ABOUT GENOCIDE
A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power
The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Simon Wiesenthal
ARMENIA
The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
Forgotten Fire by Adam Bagdasarian
A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility by Taner Akcam
BOSNIA
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo by Paula Huntley
Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic
CAMBODIA
Children of the River by Linda Crew
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung
DARFUR
Darfur: A Short History of a Long War by Julie Flint and Alex de Waal
Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival by Jen Marlowe, Aisha Bain, and Adam Shapiro
The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur by Brian Steidle, Gretchen Steidle Wallace
A Long Day's Dying: Critical Moments in the Darfur Genocide by Eric Reeves
Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond by Don Cheadle, John Prendergast
The Translator: A Memoir by Daoud Hari
THE HOLOCAUST
The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank by Anne Frank, Susan Massotty (translator)
The Drowned and the Saved by Primo Levi
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman
Night by Elie Wiesel, Marion Wiesel (translator)
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi
RWANDA
Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe by Gerard Prunier
Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda by J.P. Stassen, Alexis Siegel (translator)
Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan
Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda by Romeo Dallaire
A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali: A Novel by Gil Courtemanche
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families
Stories From Rwanda by Phillip Gourevitch
ALSO OF NOTE
What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers
Let me recommend a couple of others that aren't on this list: When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge by Chanrithy Him, and Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza.
This is why I love to read: I believe that reading breaks down the barriers between groups and peoples. It gives us the chance to see from behind someone else's eyes, to get inside their skin. It humanizes everyone, including the reader. And I like to believe that this process--of humanization and the destruction of superficial barriers--is a crucial part of creating a world where genocide is unthinkable. So do a little something to get more human: read a book of conscience this month.
2) Watch a film. A good film does the same thing as a good book; it puts you into another place and time and makes you capable of feeling what someone else feels. I'm going to list some that I can vouch for personally, and others that I haven't seen but have heard recommended. Some of these films are feature/fiction films, and some are documentaries. Some are about the genocides listed above, and others just share similar themes.
FILMS I HAVE SEEN:
Schindler's List
Hotel Rwanda
War Photographer
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Rabbit Proof Fence
Life is Beautiful
FILMS I HAVEN'T SEEN (but have heard recommended):
The Devil Came on Horseback
The Killing Fields
Sometimes in April
Darfur Now
Blessed is the Match
My Neighbor My Killer
Ghosts of Rwanda
The Diary of Anne Frank
Shake Hands With the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire
Feel free to list other recommendations of books and movies in the comments section! And if you'd like to write a book review or film review for this blog, just let me know!
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