The Togolese Red Cross officially hands over nets to the Health Ministry
Written by Canadian Red Cross aid worker France Hurtubise
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The Minister of Health receives a net from the President of the Togolese Red Cross and Canadian Red Cross. | |
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Speaking to an audience of special guests, the Minister emphasized that the fight against malaria was a national priority. He also referred to the urgency of the international situation, stressing that there were from 300 to 500 million victims of the disease worldwide.
The President of the Togolese Red Cross thanked the Canadian Red Cross, CIDA, UNICEF, WHO and the Global Fund for their outstanding contributions. He reminded everyone of the ultimate goal of the campaign, It is part of our humanitarian mission, which aims at improving the living conditions of the most vulnerable within our population.
While this ceremony was going on, convoys of trucks loaded with nets were already on their way to distribution sites in the various districts. During the 4-day campaign scheduled to start on December 9, a total of 1,273,800 nets will be given to individuals. About two-thirds were donated by the Canadian Red Cross, and one-third by the Global Fund. All over Togo, recently trained volunteers will also receive some 3,800 nets for use as demonstration tools in their own communities. All are very anxious to get started and to contribute to the success of this huge humanitarian operation.
