Malaria is no longer a threat for those that live in North America and Europe, yet a simple photo can remind us that a mosquito bite might be deadly for over half of the world’s population.

 Malaria: Blood, Sweat and Tears, a multimedia photo exhibition conceived by the Malaria Consortium and acclaimed photographer Adam Nadel, does the job by masterfully documenting the realities of this disease. In his travels through Africa and Southeast Asia, Nadel photographed victims, those involved in preventing and treating malaria and even the perpetrators – malaria-carrying mosquitoes. The exhibition also puts malaria in its proper historical context by showing how the illness once ravaged the “developed” world. Today 98% of the one million annual malaria deaths occur in only around 35 developing countries. (see a world map re-sized to reflect malaria cases)

Co-organized by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and supported by disease-control company Vestergaard Frandsen, this exhibition is currently on display at the United Nations in New York. You can see some of the photos online.

We were there on April 23^rd for a special World Malaria Day event with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium. Almost two months after launching MASSIVEGOOD, we were able to speak with some of the participants about our project.

“Funding must be sustained” insisted Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, CEO of Vestergaard Frandsen, maker of the PermaNet, a popular long-lasting insecticide-treated bed net. “In a post-Lehman Brothers world, we cannot rely solely on traditional funding. MASSIVEGOOD could help ensure full bed-net coverage.”

How much is a bed-net? $10 – or five clicks on MASSIVEGOOD. As mosquitoes strike mainly at night, sleeping under a bed-net is one of the best preventions available against malaria:

Adam Nadel/Malaria Consortium

In the past year, over 100 million mosquito nets have been delivered to sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to a global campaign of individuals, companies and NGOs.

We also got a chance to chat with Sunil Mehra, Executive Director of the Malaria Consortium, about how micro-contributions can ensure quality malaria medicine in face of increasing drug resistance.  “Small hands need to reach out to small hands,” he told us.

Due to an abundance of counterfeit malaria drugs in developing countries, new strands of drug-resistant malaria have emerged. Almost 20% of malaria deaths today are due to counterfeit drugs. Experts estimate that these dangerous counterfeits make up 10-20% of treatments available in developing countries.

Nadel took a haunting portrait of Alhaji Tijjani Nasidi, Director of Pharmacies in Kano, Nigeria. His pregnant daughter was killed by counterfeit drugs:

 Adam Nadel/Malaria Consortium

Your $2 donation through MASSIVEGOOD also goes towards the purchase of Artemisinin-based combination therapies, the most effective drugs currently available for treating malaria. They are in some ways the last hope against resistant strands of malaria that have evolved from counterfeit medicines. Artemisinin, or “sweet wormwood” has been used by traditional Chinese herbalists for over 2,000 years and it has proven to be the most powerful treatment today for malaria around the world.

To learn more about how your MASSIVEGOOD contribution through UNITAID can increase access to bed-nets and Artemisinin-based combinations therapies, please click here.

Celebrate World Malaria Day by learning more, spreading the word..... And click MASSIVEGOOD next time you travel!!

From left to right: Kiyo Akasaka, Under-secretary General, Department of Public Affairs for the United Nations, Ann Veneman, Executive Director UNICEF, Professor Awa Marie Coll Seck, Executive Director, Roll Back Malaria Partnership, United Nations Secretary General Bank Ki-moon, Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium, Special Representative of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, photographer Adam Nadel, Sunil Metra, Executive Director Malaria Consortium, Mikkel Vestergaard, CEO of Vestergaard Frandsen and Board Member or Roll Back Malaria Partnership representing the private sector, and Ray Chambers, United Nations Malaria Envoy.