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The March of Washingtons Distributes $10,000 for Antimalaria ...
The March of Washingtons Distributes $10,000 for Antimalarial Drugs in Uganda
23 Apr 2012
Africa Fighting Malaria
Washington, D.C. - The March of Washingtons - a broad-based campaign to increase access to high-quality antimalarial and pneumonia drugs in Africa - has made its fifth donation. Thanks to school children in the US, UK, Aid for Africa, and others, $10,000 for artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) has been donated to Soft Power Health's clinic in Uganda - recognized as having a high malaria transmission and often facing severe shortages of antimalarial drugs.
Hedge Funds vs. Malaria & Pneumonia and Africa Fighting Malaria teamed up in May 2008 to launch the March of Washingtons to help address the lack of access to high-quality antimalarial drugs, and recently pneumonia drugs, for people in Africa.
"Proper diagnosis of malaria and the use of safe and effective medicines are critically important in sustaining the gains against this disease in Africa," said Richard Tren, Director of Africa Fighting Malaria. "The trained medical staff at Soft Power Health's clinic properly diagnose every case of fever and only ever use high-quality drugs to treat malaria cases. We know that every dollar donated through our March of Washingtons campaign will save a life," explained Tren.
"The March of Washingtons idea is simple," said Lance Laifer, founder of Hedge Funds vs. Malaria & Pneumonia. "George Washington had malaria and died of pneumonia. George Washington is on the one dollar bill. Just one dollar can buy a malaria or pneumonia medicine for a person in Africa and support efforts to test for substandard drugs on sale in African markets. For every dollar we raise, we will buy a high-quality malaria or pneumonia treatment for a person in Africa and continue to work against the prevalence of substandard drugs. As pneumonia is often incorrectly diagnosed as malaria, it is important that we ensure both forms of treatment are available."
$10,000 was donated to Soft Power Health for the purchase and distribution of Coartem®, the first-line treatment for malaria in Uganda. This is the March of Washingtons' fifth donation to Soft Power Health due to the high malaria burden in the area and the staff's commitment to rapid diagnosis and appropriate treatment. "The burden of malaria is enormous in Uganda and we see many cases of the disease at our clinic, so this donation is extremely helpful," said Dr. Jessie Stone, Founder of Soft Power Health, which also provides mosquito bednets to surrounding communities. "Malaria is entirely preventable and curable and so we would encourage people to donate to the March of Washingtons and help ensure effective and safe treatment of the disease in Africa," said Stone.
Further funds raised by the March of Washingtons are being used to collect and test antimalarial drugs available in African countries, and to help ensure that substandard and proscribed antimalarial drugs are taken off the market.
To help in the fight against malaria and pneumonia, hold your own March of Washingtons or simply donate to the March of Washingtons by visiting our website at http://www.marchofwashingtons.org/
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Contact Information:
Richard Tren
Director, Africa Fighting Malaria
rtren@fightingmalaria.org
+1 202 223 3298
Lance Laifer
Founder, Hedge Funds vs. Malaria & Pneumonia
laifer@gmail.com
Dr. Jessie Stone
Founder, Soft Power Health
Jessie@softpowerhealth.org
www.softpowerhealth.org