Media invited to meet Tanzania malaria fighters, celebrate MEDA's 3 million malaria nets
What: Celebration of 3 million malaria nets/vouchers distributed
Who: MEDA, Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr, Tanzanian Government Officials
Where: 155 Frobisher Drive, Suite I-106, Waterloo, ON
When: 2:30 pm – Monday, February 25, 2008
Media Opportunities
Images: Cake cutting by MEDA, Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr, Tanzanian Government Officials
Interviews: Tanzanian Government Officials, MEDA, Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr
Contact: Linda Whitmore, Communications & Media Relations Manager -- 519-725-1853 ext 32
As US President George W. Bush witnessed the progress in the battle against malaria in Tanzania this week during his current African trip, Waterloo-based NGO Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) – a key player in the fight – celebrated the distribution of its three millionth anti-malaria net/voucher in the country.
That celebration will be brought to Canadian soil next week with a visit by two Tanzanian officials from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare – Dr. Donan Mmbando, Director of Preventative Services, and Dr. Alex Mwita, Program Manager for the National Malaria Control Program. They will be accompanied by MEDA's management team for the project, country manager Tim Piper and program manager Faith Patrick. Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr will also be on hand to help MEDA mark the occasion with a cake in the image of a program voucher.
MEDA designed and implemented that country's novel voucher scheme to get more insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) into the hands of African mothers and children who need them most. Malaria is the leading killer of children in Africa, claiming more than a million lives every year. (See video link below.)
During the week long visit, MEDA's guests will visit Waterloo, Toronto, London and Niagara Falls to meet with leaders at Canadian institutions and companies to create more linkages to advance health care in Tanzania.
Your viewers can hear directly from these Tanzanian leaders and learn how a Canadian NGO has helped save the lives of thousands of children across the globe.
Please contact us to be included in their visit.