Thursday, December 14, 2006
More on Malaria
The topic of malaria in Africa is heating up. President Bush & his wife Laura have just pledged funding from the U.S. in order to fight the disease. I have to wonder if it's really going to happen, though, as I just googled "bush malaria pledge" and found a slew of articles on the exact same topic from a year-and-a-half ago. A sampling:
Bush Overstates Africa Aid Increase
Did this aid ever get to Africa? If it did, why didn't it do more good? Hmmm.
Bush Announces Initiatives Targeting Malaria, Education, Women's Rights in Africa
Save the Children Applauds Bush Pledge to Increase Aid for AfricaBush Overstates Africa Aid Increase
Did this aid ever get to Africa? If it did, why didn't it do more good? Hmmm.
Labels: africa, george w. bush, malaria, money, U.S.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Mosquito Nets thru Oxfam
An extraordinarily helpful and generous reader has pointed me to the Oxfam website, where, lo and behold, people can donate money to get mosquito nets to help prevent malaria in Africa, a problem I posted about last time. How cool is this? Someone's already working on the issue, at least on the supply side. (They must have some way of getting the nets where they're needed.) If I've got my currency conversion correct, $1.00 U.S. equals almost 2 British pounds. Two mosquito nets cost 15 British pounds, so that works out to only about $7.50 U.S. (If I'm not correct about this, somebody please let me know!) That's a pretty good deal. Oxfam has some other needed supplies that would make great gifts, if you're looking for a cause to support. Thanks, generous reader!
12/14/2006 - Update (in case you didn't see the comments) - I have the currency backwards. 1 British pound equals $2 U.S. dollars. My generous & helpful reader pointed out my mistake. Thanks!
12/14/2006 - Update (in case you didn't see the comments) - I have the currency backwards. 1 British pound equals $2 U.S. dollars. My generous & helpful reader pointed out my mistake. Thanks!
Labels: africa, currency conversion, gifts, malaria, mosquito nets, oxfam, problem
Monday, December 11, 2006
Honestly, What Would It Take to Solve This?
Thus continues my African saga . . . . I got another Gallup Poll today about malaria in Africa and how getting mosquito nets to the rural folks would dramatically reduce this disease. There are barriers to getting mosquito nets to people in the very rural areas - cost, superstition, but most of all, lack of decent roads. You know, last night I was watching a show on The Discovery Channel about the building of a road across Alaska so that the pipeline could be run through. If we can manage this, how hard can it be to get mosquito nets to rural Africans?
Labels: africa, discovery channel, gallup, malaria, roads, rural
