UGANDA VNR-
It's a deadly disease and has caused arguably one of the most
devastating global health crises in the world today. Malaria claims one
million lives each year, mostly women and children in Africa.
After decades of neglect, the problem of malaria has grabbed attention
from some of the biggest names in business, politics and entertainment.
Politicians and businessmen like U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown,
Microsoft founder Bill Gates, U2 Front man Bono and News Corporation
president Peter Chernin have helped raise three billion U.S. dollars to end
deaths to end deaths from the disease by 2015.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair set up the Faith Foundation
following the end of his term in office. The first mission of the Faith
Foundation, is to end malaria deaths by 2010. And it is well equipped to do
so, as Blair is convinced.
"If faith believes that compassion for fellow human beings is an
essential part of what makes people tick, what motivates them and convinces
them that their faith is an important part of their existence then what
greater cause can there be, than to help save the lives of a million children
every year who die and we can prevent it," said Blair.
Acumen Fund is a is a non-profit global venture fund that uses
entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. High on
its agenda is the problem of malaria in Africa.
Jacqueline Novogratz, the founder and CEO of the Acumen Fund, says
investing in malaria has a huge economic return.
"It's certainly one of the greatest returns. What's so interesting
is that there is a public return and this is a public problem. There is also a
private return. What we tried to do at Acumen a few years ago is to make the
business case to companies in Tanzania and Kenya that if they made these bed
nets available to to their employees either giving to them for free as a
health insurance mechanism or even selling them for one or two dollars, that
they would see increasing productivity themselves. It would really directly
hit their bottom line, and a number of companies signed on to that and when
the companies made them available to their employees they would take advantage
and buy them at the reduced rates so there is something there for the private
sector where they could play an enormous role in distributing bed nets and
creating a culture as much as in the public sector and we should not forget
that."