Imagine No Malaria, in partnership with Rethink Church and the United Nations Foundation, is calling churches across the country to “sleep out to end malaria.”
On April 24, many churches nationwide will participate in outreach that builds community locally.
That night, the eve of World Malaria Day, UMC churches are being encouraged to host a mosquito net sleep-out to show a unified commitment in the fight against malaria by sleeping under bed nets like families in Africa who rely on mosquito netting for protection against malaria.
The World Health Organization estimates that each year 300–500 million cases of malaria occur, and that more than 1 million die each year.
Although malaria is a global problem, about 90 percent of those affected by this preventable and treatable disease live in sub-Saharan Africa. One of every five children born in this region will die from malaria before they reach their fifth birthday. Africa is particularly hard hit because it is home to the species of mosquito that is the most efficient transmitter of the disease.
Yet malaria is a disease that is both preventable and treatable. Insecticide treated bed nets, anti-malarial medications and health education can effectively control the spread of malaria and save millions of lives.
On April 25, World Malaria Day, The United Methodist Church will formally launch a $75 million Imagine No Malaria campaign to eradicate deaths caused by malaria.
Imagine No Malaria builds on the existing Nothing But Nets program and seeks to eradicate malaria deaths by 2015 by raising $75 million and providing training for health workers to provide community-based health solutions.
To download instructions on how churches can conduct a sleep-out, visit imaginenomalaria.com. Sleep-outs can be conducted indoors or outdoors depending upon weather conditions and are a great way for your groups to raise awareness about malaria.
Another resource that can be used to raise awareness of the effort to fight malaria globally is the documentary film “When the Night Comes,” developed by the United Nations Foundation. For more information, and to obtain a copy of the film, please visit http://www.whenthenightcomes.com/.
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