posted Apr 23, 2009 7:14 PM by VPWA Ghana   [ updated Apr 26, 2009 7:25 PM ]

Plans to kick-start a malaria eradication initiative were given a welcome boost today following the award of £7,500 grant to Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa (VPWA).
The non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Accra, Ghana, aims to address some of the simple and yet most effective tools in tackling the spread of one of Africa's killer diseases with its Kick Malaria Out (KMO) initiative. 

KMO 2009 shall seek to conduct community workshops on Malaria by disseminating people-friendly statistical information on the spread of Malaria and providing preventative measures to prevent being infected by the disease and also conduct clean-up training exercises designed to show communities how to prevent and clear water stagnation which is the breeding source of mosquitoes. The event is scheduled to run from 20 August 2009 and 20 September 2009 and will incorporate an awareness campaign spanning six West African countries (Ivory Coast, Togo, Ghana, Liberia, Benin and Nigeria).

The funding from Worldwidehelpers.org - a non-profit online platform connecting worldwide volunteers to placements with non-profit institutions globally - will be used to support VPWA's awareness campaign over the next five months. This advertising space is the first of it kind by Worldwidehelpers.org to be extended to an African organization.

In a statement released by Miss Roya Elghanian, Chairman of Worldwide Helpers, said: "We at Worldwide Helpers are delighted to be supporting such a worthy project. Our hope is that this offer to VPWA and the KMO initiative will go a long way to raising global publicity and awareness about malaria and it staggering effect on the African continent. We want to help to support VPWA's call for its elimination from the continent.

Mr Hayford Siaw, Executive Director of VPWA, used the opportunity to call on corporate Ghana and Africa to support such impressive indigenous initiatives since it is only ‘’we Africans that can solve our own problems’’.

He further disclosed some international media networks interest in covering the outreach in August-September in the sub-region and said it was an indication of strong commitment by these outfits to global health. He called on local media networks in Africa to sign up to cover the events and to offer airtime for these initiatives to educate the population as part of their corporate social responsibility.