ROANOKE — Virginia Baptists aim to put a dent in the spread of malaria through a two-year project launched Nov. 13 to distribute 100,000 chemically-treated mosquito nets in Ghana, where the disease is the No. 1 cause of death.
“More Than Nets,” an initiative developed in partnership with the Ghana Baptist Convention, also will instruct recipients on the proper use of nets and provide other education about malaria prevention. In addition, Virginia Baptists will work closely with pastor Emmanuel Mustafa, a Ghanaian who lost two of his six children to malaria and who wants to start a new church in every village where nets are distributed.
The project was announced during the annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, Nov. 13-14 in Roanoke.
Ghanaian pastor Emmanuel Mustafa (left) and Dean Miller of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board's glocal missions team, display a T-shirt raising awareness for “More Than Nets.”
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“About 3.3 billion around the world are at risk for malaria,” said BGAV executive director John Upton during a report on behalf the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. “We can’t help 3.3 billion by ourselves. But we can take one part of the world.”
“More Than Nets” will focus largely on Yendi, a municipal district in northeastern Ghana, where about 180,000 people live. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the African nation’s entire population of 24.2 million is at risk for malaria.
In Ghana — as in much of Africa — many houses lack window screens and anti-malarial drugs are expensive. At this point no effective malaria vaccine exists. Many medical authorities believe insecticide-treated mosquito nets are the most cost-effective way to prevent malaria transmission.
The Mission Board’s glocal missions team and a volunteer steering committee will coordinate the project, which will encourage participants to purchase “units” at $10 each. Units include a net and funds for education, transportation and organizing new churches. Leaders said they hope to raise $1 million over the next two years to provide 100,000 nets and start more than 300 congregations.
Mustafa, who attended the BGAV meeting, said the heavily Muslim Yendi municipality includes 454 villages — 309 of them without a church.
“We can do this,” said Upton. “We can eradicate malaria and build churches.”
For several years, world health organizations have focused on eliminating malaria, which still kills about 700,000 people each year, primarily in Africa. About 85 percent of the deaths are children under the age of 5. Since 2007, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the effort, including about $200 million in the development of a vaccine.
This month researchers announced disappointing results from clinical trials of the vaccine — highlighting continued reliance on treated nets and indoor insecticide spraying as primary prevention tools.
Last summer, in anticipation of the “More Than Nets” launch, campers at Woman’s Missionary Union of Virginia’s CrossRoads Camp and Conference Center contributed nearly $2,900 for the project. And in October, WMUV dedicated an offering taken at its annual meeting to purchase nets.
Robert Dilday ([email protected]) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.