BILL GATES PLEDGES $1 BILLION TO FIGHT MALARIA AS EXPERTS FEAR RESURGENCE

April 22nd, 2018

Awake Goy

This week, Microsoft founder Bill Gates announced the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation would invest $1 billion in the fight against malaria. Speaking at the London Malaria Summit on Wednesday, he urged global leaders to unite in fighting the ancient and deadly disease.

After more than a decade of dramatic decline drug and insecticide resistance, political apathy and a collapse in donor funding have created a recipe for a resurgence. Government leaders, medical experts and even British Royals joined the chorus. The fight against malaria, they said, has hit a “crossroads.”

Take, for example, the story of 28-year-old Omac Huvo who lives in Manica, Mozambique. Monday to Saturday, she wakes up, dons protective clothes and a tank of insecticide, knocks on doors and persuades families to let her spray the walls of their houses. She has worked as an indoor residual spray operator for seven years—first for the government and now with charity Goodbye Malaria.

Huvo used to face reluctance. Families have to strip their walls of possessions and stay outside for three hours as the spray settles. But now, she told Newsweek, people have started to see results and are happy to hear her knock. They know the inconvenience is worth it. After all, nets only protect your bed. “We can’t take the bed net to the dining room when we’re eating,” she said. “We can’t take the bed net to the sitting room when we’re watching TV.”