October 8, 2009
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper

Lutheran World Relief (LWR), a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), received a $1.49 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to extend the reach of malaria control in Mali, according to an Oct. 7 LWR news release. "Lutheran World Relief is pleased to partner with USAID in the fight against malaria in Mali, the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the country. With this grant, we can broaden our malaria control efforts in Mali, reaching even more people at risk," said Alissa Karg, LWR's deputy regional director for Africa.

With the grant, LWR will work to build awareness about malaria and improve agricultural incomes in Mali. "Integrating malaria and agricultural work will help address the economic and information barriers that prevent rural communities from seeking timely malaria care," according to the release. LWR aspires to reach 480,000 people in more than 400 communities in Mali, including more than 70,000 pregnant women and 90,000 children under the age of 5. These are two groups of people vulnerable to malaria infection.

At the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly this past summer, the ELCA agreed to partner with the LCMS, LWR and the United Nations Foundation to raise awareness about malaria and funds through the Lutheran Malaria Initiative. The initiative is designed to mobilize nearly 8 million Lutherans in the United States to join the battle against malaria, a preventable and treatable disease that kills more than one million people a year.

ELCA News Service