Malaria is the leading cause of death of children of under the age of five in Africa, with a child dying of the illness every 30 seconds. These statistics might seem like distant facts here in Canada, but the students at Squamish Elementary were exposed to these issues through UNICEF's nationwide campaign, Spread the Net, this past week. On Wednesday (Feb. 20) the students at Squamish Elementary were encouraged to wear their pajamas to school - a gesture that teacher Linda Kelly-Smith hoped would help students, "think of the millions of children that are exposed to a deadly disease as they go to sleep every night." Students were also asked to bring a suggested donation of $2 to school to help towards purchasing bed nets that would protect children from malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Spread the Net was founded by MP Belinda Stronach and Canadian television personality Rick Mercer, who were inspired by their trip to Africa in 2005. The goal of the campaign is to provide an affordable solution to the impacts of malaria. Their challenge to young Canadians is to raise enough money by March 2008 to contribute 50,000 insecticide-treated bed nets to children and pregnant women in Liberia and Rwanda. Each net costs $10, a price that they explain is out of reach for most people at risk of malaria -who survive on less than $1 a day. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, like Liberia and Rwanda are particularly susceptible to malaria because their tropical rain forests and humid wetlands provide an ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite. These mosquitoes typically bite at night between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. According to UNICEF, sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed net has been shown to reduce malaria transmission by at least 50 per cent and the mortality of children under five by up to 25 percent."The numbers are astounding and unacceptable. We can help to change these numbers, and the lives behind them," said Ann Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF.Spread the Net's final objective is to raise enough money to buy 500,000 nets.
