ELCA Malaria Campaign Powerpoint shared at the NE MN Synod Cardia Deo Retreat.

1. Make malaria history

2. Rebuke the Fever!
Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering
from a high fever, and they asked [Jesus]
about her. Then he stood over her and
rebuked the fever, and it left her.
- Luke 4:38-39

3. The Facts of Malaria
• A child in Africa dies
every 45 seconds
• 3.3 billion people are at
risk
• 250 million cases a year
• Nearly 800,000 deaths
each year

4. The Facts of Malaria
Children are more vulnerable, because adults in high incident
areas can develop a partial immunity to malaria over time.
Those with other health conditions are also more vulnerable to
malaria.
All four types of malaria can lie dormant in the body for long
periods of time. Relapses may occur months or even years
later.
There is no vaccine for malaria, although several are in
development and clinical trial. Parasitic infections are
notoriously difficult to vaccinate against.

5. The History of Malaria
Few civilizations, in all of history, have escaped the disease. Some Egyptian mummies
have signs of malaria. Hippocrates documented the distinct stages of the illness;
Alexander the Great likely died of it, leading to the unraveling of the Greek Empire.
Malaria may have stopped the armies of both Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan.
The disease's name comes from the Italian mal'aria, meaning "bad air"; in Rome,
where malaria raged for centuries, it was commonly believed that swamp fumes
produced the illness. At least four popes died of it.
George Washington suffered from malaria, as did Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S.
Grant. In the late 1800s, malaria was so bad in Washington, D.C., that one prominent
physician lobbied—unsuccessfully—to erect a gigantic wire screen around the city. A
million Union Army casualties in the U.S. Civil War are attributed to malaria, and in the
Pacific theater of World War II casualties from the disease exceeded those from
combat.
Some scientists believe that one out of every
two people who have ever lived have died of malaria.
Source: National Geographic – May 2007

6. Malaria in the United States
The U.S. had recorded millions of malaria cases during the 1930s, mostly
in southern states. Then an intensive anti-malaria program was
launched. In 1946 the Centers for Disease Control was founded in
Atlanta specifically to combat malaria.
America's affluence was a major asset. Almost everyone could get to a
doctor; windows could be screened; resources were available to bulldoze
mosquito-breeding swamps. There's also the lucky fact that the country's
two most common species of Anopheles mosquitoes prefer feeding on
cattle rather than humans. By 1950, transmission of malaria was halted in
the U.S.
Now most Americans who contract malaria are people who have traveled
to malaria-prone countries. Many of our missionaries who work in Africa
are at risk of contracting malaria.
Source: National Geographic – May 2007

7. The Faces of Malaria
Vulnerable populations:
• Children under 5 and
pregnant women
• People living in poverty
• People living with HIV and
AIDS
• 90 percent of malaria deaths
are in Africa

8. The Faces of Malaria

9. The Costs of Malaria
Malaria is expensive:
• Treatment
• Prevention
• Lost productivity:
Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance
$12 billion a year
• Loss of life and hope
A country's economic health has little chance of
improving until its physical health is revitalized.

11. The Transmission of Malaria
• Plasmodium parasite
• Hosts: mosquitoes,
humans
• Spread by a bite from an
infected mosquito
• Affects human liver and
red blood cells

12. Life Cycle of Plasmodium Parasite In Its Two Hosts
There are four
types of
Plasmodium
parasites:
* P. falciparum
(the most
dangerous)
* P. vivax
* P. ovale
* P. malariae
P. falciparum can affect the brain. Those that survive cerebral malaria may
have long-terms residual effects including cerebral palsy, blindness,
deafness, language problems and impaired cognition.

13. The Symptoms of Malaria
Early symptoms If left untreated
• High fever • Seizures
• Chills • Respiratory Distress
• Nausea and vomiting • Anemia
• Headaches • Organ Failure
• Body aches • Coma
• Fatigue • Death

14. ELCA Malaria Campaign
Why us? Why now?
• Following Christ’s call
• Joining our companions
in Africa
• A moment in history:
Millennium Development
Goals

15. What is the mission of the ELCA Malaria Campaign?
The ELCA Malaria Campaign enables our church to join with African companion churches in the global effort
to prevent, treat, and contain malaria by 2015.
What is the fund-raising goal of the ELCA Malaria Campaign?
The ELCA Malaria Campaign’s goal is to raise $15 million by 2015.
What are the education and awareness-raising goals of the campaign?
The ELCA Malaria Campaign aims to educate every ELCA member about the disease of malaria and its
continuing impact on people living in poverty in Africa, especially children under five and pregnant women. The
ELCA Malaria Campaign believes that once Lutherans are informed about the problem they will want to
respond to make a difference.
Which countries does the ELCA Malaria Campaign support?
Funds raised will benefit our Lutheran companion churches and companion organizations in eleven African
countries: Angola, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania,
Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
What kinds of programming does the ELCA Malaria Campaign support?
The ELCA Malaria Campaign will work with partner churches and organizations in Africa on treatment,
prevention and education.

16. Preventable. Treatable. Now.
Malaria education Capacity-building
• Village health teams • Strengthen organizational
• Community education structures
• Education in the church • Equip to participate in
international funding
efforts

17. One of the simplest and most effective tools in
the fight against malaria is an insecticide-treated
B e d Ne t
Studies show that the
use of treated bed nets
can reduce malaria
transmission by as
much as 90% in areas
with high coverage.
One bed net can
cover an entire family
and can last about
four years with proper
care.

18. One Bed Net
$10

19. Progress Is Happening!
Using available tools (bed nets, indoor spraying, preventive treatment for pregnant
women and ACT treatment), 25 countries globally have reduced malaria deaths by
more than 50%, including four in Africa.
After years of stagnant and increasing child deaths, recent data show a 28% drop in
the under-5 mortality rate over the previous 7 years. WHO and UNICEF attribute
much of this progress to the significant scale up of malaria control interventions.
• Approximately 125,000 children under 5 in 10 African countries have been saved
due to malaria interventions between 2001 and 2007.
• Following Zambia's expansive malaria control program, malaria incidence
dropped 50% and all-cause child mortality decreased by 35%.
• In Rwanda, child malaria cases declined by 64% and child deaths from malaria
dropped by 66%.
Source: The Malaria Policy Center, a project of Malaria No More

20. But There Is Still Much To Do!
Get Involved!
Pray
• Pray for people with
malaria
• Pray for the ministry of
our companions
• Resources:
www.elca.org/malaria

21. Get Involved!
Learn and teach
Educate yourself and others
• www.elca.org/hunger/
toolkits
• www.elca.org/malaria

22. Get Involved! Raise money
• Synodical campaigns
• Congregational
campaigns
• Ask your community
• Be creative!

23. Get Involved!
Free Resources to order and to download at www.elca.org/malaria

24. Get Involved!
Ideas
*Involve your Vacation Bible School or Sunday School
kids
*Involve the Women of the ELCA in your congregation
*Partner with other churches also doing malaria work
*April 25, 2012 is World Malaria Day...maybe you can write
an article for your school paper or church newsletter!
*Write a skit
*How about having “Malaria May” to raise awareness?
*Read the Malaria Blog at elca.org/blogs and
see what other churches are doing
*Organize a “Sleep Under”
*Participate in a Miles Against Malaria Walk
*Talk with your pastor and other adults and work together!

25. Get Involved!
Give generously
• What will be my own gift
to the ELCA Malaria
Campaign?

26. What your gift can do
• $10 = net
• $50 = medicine for 25
patients
• $100 = train a village
health team
• $250 = protect 125
expectant
mothers

27. Questions?
Email: malaria@elca.org
Website: www.elca.org/malaria
Northeastern Minnesota Synod Contact:
Brenda Wagner
218-246-3179
mbwagner965@gmail.com

28. Make
malaria
history!