A Tanzanian woman sews a mosquito net at the Olyset Factory in Arusha, Tanzania

Hi Everyone! We’re getting some great questions from our new friends at Twitter about malaria and economic development—so good to see that people are thinking about how health and poverty are connected and how we need to be really smart about fighting disease.

By ending malaria, we can remove a huge barrier to growth—taking malaria off the table will have outsized positive impact for families across Africa. At Malaria No More, we’re working to help Africa rid itself of malaria so it can concentrate on other issues (and put ourselves out of business) as quickly as possible.

Some great examples of how malaria and economic development are linked include:

• You can’t work if you’re sick. Malaria can cause people to miss 15-25 work days in malaria-endemic regions. This affects income and hinders productivity—all because of a preventable disease.
• The Olyset Net Factory in Arusha, Tanzania is the only factory in Africa to locally produce WHO-approved long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs). LLINs like those produced at the Olyset Net Factory last up to 5 years and are more effective than other nets, which need to be re-treated. The factory also employs 3,200 local workers, supporting 20,000 people—made by Africans, for Africans.
• Families can spend up to 25% of their income treating malaria. Imagine if you had to give up a full quarter of your income. What would you have to give up?
• 40% of Africa’s health expenditure is on malaria alone. If we can take malaria out of the equation, those precious resources can fight other health problems, like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, pneumonia, diarrhea…there are plenty of good ways to use that money.

The malaria community is working to get nets over every person at risk by December 31, 2010—and we’re on our way to making it happen. If we can really focus on this problem, embrace the solution and rally together for a major push—ending malaria for once and for all—we can leverage mosquito nets for major impact in Africa’s economic development.

Help us get rid of it, and fast. An end to malaria means a beginning of so much else.

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