ELCA Malaria Campaign reaches $13 million milestone

     CHICAGO (ELCA) – Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and others have contributed $13 million to the ELCA Malaria Campaign in their effort to raise $15 million by the end of 2015. Through the campaign, ELCA members have joined with companion Lutheran churches and partners in 13 African countries to prevent and treat malaria, educate communities about the disease and more.
     “Together, ELCA members and Lutherans in Africa are making malaria history,” said Jessica Nipp Hacker, ELCA Malaria Campaign coordinator. “Generous Lutherans have now given more than $13 million to the ELCA Malaria Campaign, putting us just $2 million shy of our ultimate fundraising goal of $15 million by the end of 2015. These generous gifts have funded Lutheran malaria programs that are now educating, providing critical resources and changing lives in 13 countries in Africa.”
     Rolled out by the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, the campaign supports programs that provide mosquito nets, insecticides, medication, health care, education and more. Although malaria is preventable and treatable, each year more than 200 million people worldwide become infected with the disease and more than 600,000 people die, many of these children under 5. Ninety percent of all malaria-related deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa.
     ELCA members’ contributions have joined a global effort focusing on a reduction of malaria-related deaths. According to the World Health Organization’s World Malaria Report 2013, between 2000 and 2012, the malaria mortality rate was reduced by 45 percent globally and by 49 percent in Africa. 
     The Rev. Jon Macumi, who leads a two-point Lutheran parish in Mishiha in the province of Cankuzo, Burundi, offered this prayer during an interview with members of the ELCA Malaria Campaign last spring:
     “God, most respected, we pray for the ELCA so that you keep strengthening it, and give them blessings for the work we are planning to accomplish together in this region. We thank you. And when we meet again, may we be healthy so that we can be grateful. In the name of Jesus Christ, our King. Amen.”
     “We are grateful for each and every one of these gifts – large and small – that have enabled communities in Africa to bring health and hope to countless households,” said Nipp Hacker. “Together, we can do more.”
     The ELCA Malaria Campaign is one of 10 priorities of the ELCA’s five-year comprehensive campaign, Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the ELCA. Approved by the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, the campaign seeks to raise $198 million to help sustain and grow the ministries of this church.
 Information about the ELCA Malaria Campaign is available at http://www.elca.org/malaria.
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with more than 3.8 million members in nearly 10,000 congregations across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer, Martin Luther.

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