"Buy a Net, Save a Life"

“Mosquitoes kill millions of people every year. They spread malaria across Africa. Devastating families, villages, even entire communities. We lose a child to the disease every 30 seconds.”
http://www.nothingbutnets.net/

Today I was introduced to a program called “Buy a Net, Save a Life”. This program is sponsored by the United Nations Foundation and numerous other organizations. “Buy a Net, Save a Life” is a program that is designed to prevent malaria, a parasitic disease spread through mosquito bites, by providing nets to families in Africa.

“For just $10 we can buy a net, distribute it to a family and educate them on its use. You can save a family. Your friends, school, church, or team can save a village. Together we can cover a continent…”
http://www.nothingbutnets.net/

Currently there is not a vaccination against malaria. There are ways to prevent it, however they involve taking booster shots and daily pills. Providing millions and millions of people with anti-malaria pills every day just won't be possible. Sleeping under a net (which won't need daily replacement, unlike the pills) can protect a person, or an entire family from the disease during the resting hours. While the drawback to this is, of course, that it only protects during part of the 24 hour day, I feel that this net program is a good one temporarily until a vaccination without contraindications can be found. Also, a net is only $10, that's 20 people using Mr. Singer's donation factor of $200 if you recall.

This program is relevant to what we are studying in English class as it connects to our two essential questions (which you can view on the sidebar):
While reflecting on the question, “What kind of world is this?” I am vacillating between the awareness that we have allowed millions of people to die every year and the notion that there are organizations working to prevent the disease.

To respond to the second question, “How should we live in it?” I feel that since the people in Africa contracting malaria do not have access to needed medical resources, and we have financial resources to help them, then we should. I don't think that we should give to the extent that Mr. Singer was saying (which is extreme that I completely disagree with) but we definately should do something to help those who are not as fortunate.