Researchers could be closing in on a vaccine to fight malaria!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/opinion/14sun3.html?_r=1

“The new studies showed that the most advanced candidate vaccine — made by GlaxoSmithKline — cut illnesses in infants and young children by more than half and could safely be given with other childhood vaccines that are already routinely administered throughout Africa. The results were published in The New England Journal of Medicine, along with an editorial that called the vaccine’s performance a “hopeful beginning” toward prevention of the disease.”

“Even a vaccine that is partially effective could save hundreds of thousands of lives a year. It would bolster the gains already being made by insecticide-treated bed nets that prevent mosquitoes from spreading the parasite and by malaria pills to treat sick patients.”

From Wikipedia:

“Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 515 million cases of malaria, killing between one and three million people, the majority of whom are young children in Sub-Saharan Africa.^[1] 90% of malaria related deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria is commonly associated with poverty, but is also a cause of poverty^[2] and a major hindrance to economic development.”

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, and the coming of a new year, let's not forget the less fortunate amongst us.

The AIDS pandemic has left millions of children in Africa without parents – alone and desperate, the majority roam city streets, looking for any way to survive.

Every year, A Wall for Social Consciousness uses the proceeds from purchases of their annual calendar to provide the basic needs of food, shelter, healthcare, and education for some of these children.

The 2009 Calendar is now available for purchase at only USD $13 each, including shipping within the USA!

100% of funds raised will be used to benefit children impacted by HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe.  

Order the calendar at http://eppardvision.org/awfsc/#nav_buy_2009_calendar

Photography: Johnny Fernandes
Graphic Design: Jason Rinne

I look at the individual.

I can only love one person at a time – just one, one, one.

So you begin. I began – I picked up one person.

Maybe if I didn't pick up that one person,

I wouldn't have picked up forty-two thousand...

The same thing goes for you, the same thing in your family,

the same thing in your church, your community.

Just begin – one, one, one.  – Mother Teresa