Now it’s your turn to tell me what YOU think!

Malaria was the last area of UNICEF’s work that we looked at on our Solomon Islands visit. Malaria is abig problem in the SI, especially in areas where there is stagnant water and mangrove swamps. The solution is malaria nets. When children and their families sleep under a net they are protected.

We spoke with one family where mum and dad had both suffered from malaria – as had 4 of their 6 children. The family live on Irigilia, a 2 hour boat ride for our party in a fast modern boat. For locals with dug outs and small outboard engines, this would be a 3-4 hour ride to Gizo hospital for treatment.

For a pregnant mother, malaria can mean the birth of a low weight baby that will struggle to survive and possibly be stunted for the remainder of its life.

The sad part (and the best part!) of this is that children can be spared from malaria for just $10! That is the cost of a net!

UNICEF has a world wide campaign to deliver 25 million bed nets to malaria affected countries by the end of 2010, and are well on the road to reaching this target.

In the Solomon Islands UNICEF works to encourage the proper use of bed nets by families. Believe it or not, the nets are sometimes used for other purposes including fishing! Mobilising community awareness is a key component in the fight to reduce malaria incidence.

This visit has been so moving on many levels. I have been on many field trips, but UNICEF’s work here is a marvelous package of health, education, law reform and child protection. I am proud of the work our office in NZ has done to help fund the work, and with your help we will continue to do so.

Blogging this past week has been a new experience for me, and now it is your turn to tell me what YOU think! Was it interesting? Did it help you understand more about how UNICEF works? Do you think that the Solomon Islands are a relevant country for us to support?

Join in and express your views.

Thanks for reading!

Dennis