Faith-Based Organizations Partner to Fight Malaria

UMCOR to Join Episcopal Relief & Development's NetsforLife® Program Partnership

NEW YORK, May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The relief and development agencies of two mainline Protestant denominations are forming a new strategic partnership to prevent and control malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.  By uniting in common mission, Episcopal Relief & Development's award-winning NetsforLife® program partnership and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) will be able to reach 21 countries in sub-Saharan Africa where malaria is endemic.

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"The strength of our NetsforLife® program and UMCOR is that we both work with churches and other grassroots institutions to fill gaps in health service coverage – mostly in rural areas – and develop solutions that fit the context and challenges of each locality," said Rob Radtke, President of Episcopal Relief & Development. 

The partnership began informally in 2010, when NetsforLife® and UMCOR began working together to amplify United Methodist and Anglican/Episcopal anti-malaria efforts in Africa. It has been particularly effective in areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

"The root of our partnership is a shared belief in the strength of African churches to take action, empower local communities to become whole and healthy, change behavior and target resources for greater reach and impact," Radtke continued. 

Shannon Trilli, director of UMCOR's Global Health Initiative, said, "There is still much to be done in our malaria prevention work, especially at the community and village level. By joining UMCOR's resources and expertise in developing health-care infrastructure and communications to the NetsforLife® programming, monitoring and evaluation approach, we can strengthen and deepen our impact."

To sustain and grow this life-saving work, both NetsforLife® and UMCOR are raising funds through grassroots campaigns in churches, schools, and other institutions.

In the Episcopal Church, the NetsforLife® Inspiration Fund is educating, engaging, and uniting Episcopalians to support Millennium Development Goals and the fight against malaria. The goal of the campaign is to build awareness about this disease and how it can be prevented. It also aims to raise $5 million by December 2012 to help NetsforLife® continue its work.

Imagine No Malaria is an effort of The United Methodist Church (UMC) to eliminate death and suffering caused by malaria in Africa by 2015. The UMC is a founding partner of the United Nations Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign, which works through Imagine No Malaria.

Visit www.inspirationfund.org for more information about NetsforLife® and the NetsforLife® Inspiration Fund. Donations can also be made by calling 1.855.312.HEAL (4325) or mailing gifts to Episcopal Relief & Development, PO Box 7058, Merrifield, VA 22116-7058. Please put "NetsforLife® Malaria" in the memo line of all checks.

About Episcopal Relief & Development
As the relief and development organization of the Episcopal Church, Episcopal Relief & Development works with more than 3 million people annually in over 40 countries, through programs that fight poverty and disease. Its malaria program partnership, NetsforLife®, brings together corporations, foundations and faith-based organizations to fight malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. The partnership, which has reached more than 37 million people since its inception in 2006, includes the ExxonMobil Foundation, Standard Chartered Bank, the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, Starr International Foundation, the J.C. Flowers Foundation, and Episcopal Relief & Development.

About UMCOR
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the not-for-profit global humanitarian aid organization of The United Methodist Church.  UMCOR is working in more than 80 countries worldwide, including the United States.  Our mission, grounded in the teachings of Jesus, is to alleviate human suffering—whether caused by war, conflict, or natural disaster, with open hearts and minds to all people.

SOURCE Episcopal Relief & Development