Photographer William Daniels documents an organization that is saving lives by providing free mosquito nets to those in the developing world where malaria has become a widespread.
Ode Editors | March 2010 issue
Malaria kills one person every 30 seconds. Nine out of 10 times, the victim is a young African child. The Anopheles mosquito, which transmits malaria, feeds at night. So an effective way to avoid infection is to hang a mosquito net around the bed. Yet, many families at risk can’t afford nets.
Enter Malaria Consortium, the world’s largest organization dedicated to fighting malaria. Operating in more than 20 countries, it distributes free mosquito nets to groups in need, teaches prevention and provides medical treatment, especially in rural areas. The work of the organization, which originated at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has been documented by William Daniels, a Paris-based photographer, who traveled to Uganda, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, India, Thailand and Myanmar to raise awareness about one of the biggest killers in the developing world.
At a displaced persons camp near Gulu in northern Uganda, a woman and child shelter under a mosquito net.
Photo: William Daniels
At a displaced persons camp near Gulu in northern Uganda, a woman and child shelter under a mosquito net.
Photo: William Daniels
Last fall, some six million insecticide-treated nets were distributed across Kano state in northern Nigeria. Nigeria has a population of roughly 150 million. Each year, half of all Nigerians come down at least once with malaria; 300,000 children die from the disease.
Photo: William Daniels
An ode to PhotoPhilanthropy
This photo essay by William Daniels has been awarded the 2009 PhotoPhilanthropy Excellence Prize, which acknowledges excellence in social photography. PhotoPhilanthropy is a San Francisco-based organization that promotes, supports and connects photographers, both professionals and amateurs, to non-profit groups around the world. Founder Nancy Farese, a veteran social documentary photographer, believes that through the camera lens you can “witness both the desperate need for action as well as the heroic efforts of the non-profit organizations striving to meet these challenges.” Ode and PhotoPhilanthropy have partnered to bring a new photo essay to our website every month. Check out odemagazine.com for details.
