April 25 is World Malaria Day. World Vision has launched an urgent initiative to combat this leading killer of children in the developing world, including a goal of nearly zero preventable malaria deaths by 2015.

April 2009

By Jessie Lester, World Vision U.S., and Eleuterio Fenita, World Vision Mozambique

Luciano Mateus, a father of four, used to lie awake, listening to the buzzing of mosquitoes and worrying about his children, who were constantly ill. “My greatest heartache and fear of what could happen was having my children suffering from malaria. I've seen and heard of many children and adults dying from it,” he says.

A life-threatening disease

Children like Luciano's contract malaria without warning during their sleep. All it takes is one simple bite from a tiny, disease-carrying mosquito. A child may not even realize that he or she has been bitten, but 10 to 40 days later, symptoms of the disease begin to show.

Malaria is one of the leading causes of death for children under age 5 in the developing world. Each year, approximately 800,000 children die as a result of the disease. In Mozambique, where Luciano lives, the fear is especially acute. Malaria is responsible for 60 percent of child hospitalizations and 30 percent of hospital deaths.

Laughing at mosquitoes

Despite these odds, Luciano's home is no longer plagued by worry or disease, thanks to bed nets provided by World Vision. Sleeping under mosquito nets protects children from potentially deadly bites. “We now laugh at mosquitoes because they cannot bite anymore,” he says, showing off the nets.

In Mozambique, World Vision has distributed more than 2,500 nets to the most vulnerable families. People all throughout the Lifidzi region, where Luciano lives, are watching their lives change because of bed nets.

A constant battle

Like the Mateuses, fear of malaria put enormous strain on 11-year-old Lonica's family. “I started going to school very late because I usually got sick, and my parents did not know what it was,” she says. “They took me to [the] hospital, and there, the nurse told us that it was malaria.”

Malaria causes fever, chills, and flu-like symptoms, and if not treated promptly, it can lead to developmental delays, brain damage, and other complications. Lonica's parents made frequent trips to the hospital in attempts to battle the disease.

“My mother was crying, because if [it was] not me at the hospital, [it was] my brothers who were in the hospital. Life was very difficult for my mother,” recalls Lonica.

'Good riddance, malaria'

In response to this threat to children, World Vision has launched a major campaign to combat malaria in developing countries where the deadly disease is still a threat. We aim to contribute to a 75-percent reduction in malaria cases, with the end goal of nearly zero preventable malaria deaths by 2015. Bed nets, like the ones Luciano's and Lonica's families received, are a crucial part of the malaria initiative. According to UNICEF, sleeping under insecticide-treated nets can reduce overall child mortality by 20 percent.

“With proven, inexpensive solutions, such as treated mosquito nets, malaria programs not only protect against the fourth leading cause of child death worldwide, but also represent one of the best returns on investment in a time when every dollar counts,” says Craig Jaggers, World Vision’s health and education policy adviser.

Meanwhile, for Lonica and her siblings, the days of hospital visits and constant worries are over. Thanks to World Vision, they are now sleeping under the protection of mosquito nets. “Dad sets up…the mosquito net every night, and all of us — my two brothers and two sisters — sleep under it very peacefully,” says Lonica joyfully.

Lonica is excited because she has seen the difference that a simple bed net can make. She and her siblings have not been infected with malaria at all since September. “No more mosquito bites. Good riddance, malaria,” she exclaims.