|
Go Hungry Here to Fight Malaria in Africa
By Todd Seavey
This Thursday, May 10, 2007, is Fast Against Malaria Day, when, in an effort that grew out of an idea from investment banker Lance Laifer (who started Hedge Funds vs. Malaria), people around the world have pledged to give up one meal in order to donate the money to buying bed nets to ward off malarial mosquitoes in Africa (you'll find ACSH's Executive Director, Dr. Gilbert Ross, listed among those taking the pledge).
The group promises that, in contrast to the behavior of many charities, it will give 100% of the money raised to the purchase of the bed nets. This is made even more admirable by the fact that Western bureaucracies have not dealt very efficiently with the malaria problem in recent decades. As noted recently on this blog, many Western organizations, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, have long discouraged the spraying of DDT (over excessive concerns about possible eggshell-thinning effects on birds), the most effective and inexpensive chemical for killing malarial mosquitoes, even while some 2 million people a year have died from the disease (which was eradicated in the northern hemisphere through the use of DDT around the mid-twentieth century). Groups such as the Gates Foundation that are interested in helping Africa would do well to consider doing more to promote DDT use.
Bed nets are not the only tool we could deploy against malaria, but they're a start, and it's worth pausing on Thursday to remember the immense consequences of doing nothing.
Todd Seavey is Director of Publications at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org) and editor of HealthFactsAndFears.com.
|
