The word ‘mosquito’ means ‘little fly’ in Spanish, yet however small this insect maybe, its impact across the world is devastating. In passing from host to host, some mosquito species can transmit extremely harmful infections such as Malaria, Yellow fever, Zika virus and others, making it the deadliest insect family in the world.
Around half of the world’s population is at risk from malaria spread by mosquitoes, and it’s thought to have killed more people than any other disease in history. It has a devastating impact on families, claiming the life of a child every two minutes. It causes untold heartache, crushes communities and cripples economies. It’s estimated that malaria costs the African economy more than £8 billion every single year.
Despite its destructive toll, malaria is preventable and treatable. Investing in malaria prevention returns £36 for every £1 invested. The charity Malaria No More UK (MNMUK) works tirelessly to end one of the world’s oldest killer diseases and inspires others to help put malaria out of business for good.
increased access to mosquito nets, testing and treatments has brought about a record 60% reduction in malaria deaths since 2000 – with over six million lives estimated to have been saved. In 2016 the World Health Organisation (WHO) certified that Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan had eliminated malaria. Yet despite tremendous progress more still needs to be done to eliminate this disease. Looking forward, WHO with help from charities like MNMUK, aims to eliminate malaria in at least 35 countries and help to reduce malaria deaths by 90% by 2030.
World Malaria Day on 25th April is an opportunity to shine a spotlight not just on the devastating effects of the disease, but also on all the efforts (large, small and wacky! by businesses and individuals) to raise money to help defeat it.
The Rentokil Initial family has supported MNMUK for several years and recently reached over £150K of fundraising. Throughout 2016 colleagues took part in 35 different activities. Fundraising initiatives included:
C2P – an epic cycle ride by employees from our Camberley HQ to the French capital Paris, covering 210 miles in just 3 days raising over £10,000.
Vertigo in Verzasca – Chris Pickles an Area Operations Manager for Rentokil Pest Control followed in the footsteps of 007 by bungee jumping the high dam in the Verzasca Valley (all 220 m of it!) – made famous by the James Bond film Goldeneye. Overall the jump raised £1940 in style!
Tough Mudder – Ben O’Shaughnessy and the Battleship Boys team completed a challenging 10 mile obstacle course with mud, freezing cold water, electricity and fire to raise over £2500.
During 2017 Rentokil will continue to support MNMUK with our colleagues finding ever more creative ways in which to raise funds to help MNMUK put malaria out of business for good.
#endmalaria #malariagameplan
Leave a Reply