In two weeks I am traveling to West Africa. With your help I plan to buy enough mosquito nets for each family living in one rural community in Guinea Bissau where I will be staying.

THE PROBLEM: In 2015, approximately 3.2 billion people – nearly half of the world's population – were at risk of malaria. There were 214 million malaria cases and an estimated 438,000 malaria deaths.

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the region's worst hit by malaria.
In Guinea-Bissau specifically, there is a general problem of lack of access to healthcare for many reasons.There is a payment system for health care, and a large section of the population lives on less than US$2 day -below the poverty line. Political instability also has a major impact. Just this year, health workers were on strike for one and a half months because they were receiving no wages. At the country's main hospital in Bissau there was only one doctor and one nurse for 160 beds. Seriously ill children were sent home as there was no one to care for them.
International institutions do not release funds which leaves the country highly dependent on foreign aid. For people living in rural areas there is the added problem of physical access to health facilities.

A report in July 2016 by Médecins Sans Frontières states, "malaria is one of the main causes of illness in Guinea-Bissau, there is a 75% mortality rate, and children die because there is no possible treatment for them" www.msg.org.

THE SOLUTION: Research by the World Health Organization suggests the use of mosquito nets or bed nets can reduce rates of malaria by an average of 45% and cut childhood mortality rates by between 25% and 35%. Bed nets protect pregnant women and reduce mortality among infants and children, the most vulnerable populations.

For families living in rural Guinea-Bissau, having bed nets, which cost around £10 each, will massively reduce the risk of people contracting the life-threatening disease. Thanks for your support