Mia Farrow: We can end the nightmare of malaria
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| © UNICEF/07-0657/Pirozzi | |
| LIBERIA: Seventh-month-old Mawi, who has recently recovered from malaria, sits on her mother Sia’s lap under an insecticide-treated bednet at a feeding center in the outskirts of Monrovia, the capital. |
For the final 12 days of 2008, UNICEF celebrity Ambassadors and Supporters are posting daily blog entries about the impact UNICEF Inspired Gifts are having on children around the world. UNICEF Ambassador Mia Farrow recently returned from a three-day mission to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where she witnessed the devastating impact civil war is having on children.
My name is Mia Farrow and I believe in zero. That means ZERO children dying from preventable causes instead of the 25,000 that perish every day. To reduce that number, we need to join forces to fight the single greatest killer of children under-five in Africa: malaria.
UNICEF is giving us a chance to reach this goal this holiday season, with the gift of insecticide treated bed nets. Malaria is carried by mosquitoes, which are most active at night while children are sleeping. For many of the world’s children going to sleep each night means facing the nightmare of malaria.
By purchasing Insecticide Treated Mosquito Bed Nets through UNICEF, you can help in the fight to keep every child covered and healthy. This simple mesh can decrease infection rates by 50 percent! So, for just $11.86 you can provide treated mosquito nets to two families and help save lives.
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Happy holidays!
I am Mia Farrow and I believe in zero.
25,000 young children die every day from preventable causes”things like malnutrition, poor sanitation and lack of safe, drinkable water. UNICEF believes that number should be zero.
We are southern African immigrants based in the northern USA and we need your help to improve lives of people dying of malaria and cholera in southern Africa.
Ms. Farrow, I am very moved by the information in this blog.
When I think that two families can be saved from malaria for the price of a couple of cups of gourmet coffee, I am both hopeful and angry. Hopeful because the solution is simple and affordable, angry because lives are being lost that could be saved for pennies.
I contributed to the UNICEF Malaria No More matching grant campaign, and I can’t think of a better way to end the year than by helping another two families sleep safely at night. That is truly an Inspired Gift!