Faiths Act

If there ever was a time to reflect on and answer the question of those who ask 'Why malaria?', then the report by Roll Back Malaria provides the answers. The report finds that the world has made remarkable progress against malaria in the past ten years, increasing optimism that an end to the disease is in sight. According to the report global malaria deaths have dropped by an estimated 38%, with 43 countries (11 of them in Africa) cutting malaria cases or deaths by 50% or more, reversing the trend of the previous decade and saving over a million lives.

It’s easy to get lost in numbers, but sitting here at the end of a fantastically busy week in Birmingham, I took a few moments to think about what this meant: individual children and families not suffering the devastating effects of loss in homes all around the world. So why malaria? Well it’s not fair is it? It’s not fair that children under five die every 45 seconds from a completely preventable and treatable disease.

Reports like this one, for me as a development graduate, highlight that achievements such as these are fragile. Developing and ensuring the investment continues in a time of competing global priorities is important. The global Faiths Act campaign and particular Sierra Leone project is not only inspiring but relevant more than ever.

Not only are we mobilising faith communities that, when together, are a demonstrable force for good, but particularly the strategy employed by Faiths Act Sierra Leone is at the cutting edge of new strategies that are required to ensure the continued improvement in lowering the malaria death rate, with a goal of zero deaths being set.

Shalom.

Imandeep Kaur and Steve Hirst, Faiths Act Fellows