The following post is an excerpt from the Malaria No More Policy Center blog.

We are reading a student oped from The Standford Daily on the Inter Faith Youth Core’s effort to fight malaria. Anand Venkatkrishnan looks more closely at the IFYC’s work.

Malaria is one of the most egregious killers on the planet, because it is entirely preventable. The disease is tied very closely to the other MDGs because it is so prevalent. Sub-Saharan Africa hemorrhages an estimated $12 billion USD each year in GDP through this loss of productivity, further compounding problems of poverty. Many parents have to choose between treating the infected in their family or eating. Educating women about the disease and how to protect their families increases their standing and importance in the community. Malaria touches almost all of the other MDGs. Were it to be eliminated, the other goals would be that much easier to achieve.

Mosquitoes are equal-opportunity offenders. For them, the blood of a Christian is just as sweet as that of a Muslim or an atheist or a Sikh. The Bay Area Against Malaria campaign is a collaboration this year between interfaith and malaria activists across five Bay Area campuses, raising funds and awareness for Malaria No More. Our movement all about ordinary people, of all faiths and none, doing something extraordinary. Together, we can eradicate deaths from malaria.