Today is World Malaria Day. And you may be wondering why that’s relevant on a blog about Millennials. Malaria is a disease that the world has known how to beat for more than a century, yet each year an astounding 350 to 500 million new cases are reported and over 1 million malaria-related deaths occur.
Recently through efforts like Malaria No More [1]*, we have seen the Millennial Generation leading the charge to ensure that we are the last generation to see the perils of this horrible disease.
We wanted to bring your attention to just a few of the ways that technology is being deployed by social citizens of all ages and backgrounds to advance the message and raise awareness of a disease that remains the No. 1 killer of children in sub-Saharan Africa.
- On Facebook, One Million Faces Against Malaria Project Blackout [2] just became the largest Internet social gathering against malaria ever.
- The UN Foundation [3] introduced the game Deliver the Net [4] earlier this month, urging players to “race the sun and hand out as many bed nets as you can to African families.” Once you’re done playing, you can sign up for news about the campaign and a life-saving bed net will be sent on your behalf. More than 8,262 people have done so in the past month.
- Youth Service America [5] and the UN Foundation have collaborated on a new service-learning module [6] combining malaria prevention, awareness, and fundraising that serves to engage volunteers on Global Youth Service Day [7] (April 25-27, 2008) and World Malaria Day [1] (April 25, 2008). Both events fall on the same weekend this year giving young people, parents, and educators an opportunity to engage in service projects that address malaria and its role as a global health crisis.
And, since we couldn’t resist, here’s a PSA [8] by David Beckham urging you to purchase a net and stop the spread of malaria.
*Full disclosure: Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation, sits on the board for Malaria No More.
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