This article in World magazine caught my eye. It's about the fight against malaria in Africa. Yay for WHO and all the other organizations who finally figured out that they had over-reacted to DDT. I know DDT is not a nice chemical, BUT the amount that a farmer would spray on one acre, back in the day, here in the U.S., would protect 100,000 African households for four months. And of course if it's sprayed on the walls of a house it doesn't enter the food chain like it would when sprayed on a field. Millions of African children died before people finally figured this out, a sad picture of what happens when rich people determine policy for poor people on the other side of the planet.
We attended the funeral of a Kenyan baby who had died of malaria. The parents had buried three children previously and had two living. This sort of experience makes you realize the urgency of a prevention/cure.
If you scroll down the link/page, there's a box in blue that tells about research done in Kisumu, Kenya, on the link between malaria and AIDS. Kisumu is where we spent three months in 2003-4, and where Steven lived. So when I see it featured in a news magazine it always catches my eye.
Quote of the Day:
"What if God suddenly killed off all the moms? Would you ever find anything?"
--my SIL Geneva, to her family
I appreciated learning about this. I also greatly enjoying your talk to the writers the other evening. Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I enjoyed your talk. Not I enjoying it. Can speak English some days. :)
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