BUG FREE

One of the most sobering facts about malaria is that it can be prevented simply by sleeping under an insecticide-treated mosquito net. These nets can last five years and cost about $10 -- expensive to families who survive on less than $1 a day but, thanks to Rotarian efforts, now accessible to many of them. East Alton Rotary Club will be partnering with Monmouth Rotary Club for an international project to prevent malaria in Uganda, Africa. East Alton Rotary's $1,000 contribution will be paired with $6,000 from the Monmouth Club and an $8,000 matching grant from Rotary District 6460 to purchase mosquito netting.About 40% of the world's population, mostly those living in the poorest countries, are at risk of malaria. Of these 2.5 billion people at risk, more than 500 million become severely ill with malaria every year and more than 1 million die from the effects of the disease. Malaria is especially a serious problem in Africa, where one in every five (20%) childhood deaths is due to the effects of the disease. An African child has on average between 1.6 and 5.4 episodes of malaria fever each year. And every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria.