The founder and president of Prince Ned Nwoko Foundation (PNNF), Ned Nwokolo, has taken the organization’s ‘Malaria Eradication in Africa Project’ to Antarctica to address the scourge.
According to the foundation’s Strategic Communication Advisor, Mr. Nosike Ogbuenyi, who revealed the new development, the expedition to Antarctica, the earth’s southernmost continent on the geographic South Pole, is to interact with leading researchers working on more effective drugs for the control of the deadly disease in Africa.
“The historic Antarctica expedition is for the symbolic launch of his eradication in Africa project and to draw global attention to the monumental health challenge as well as finding a permanent solution.”
“The fact that it is often forgotten by many is that malaria is the biggest killer disease in Africa, and it irks the mind of Prince Ned Nwoko. To him, the journey towards a malaria-free Nigeria and Africa is not just worthwhile, but realistic.”
To achieve this, the Ned Nwoko Foundation is set for a collective effort with national and multilateral organizations towards eradicating mosquito and malaria in Africa, Ogbuenyi adds.
To this end, the Foundation has set aside $75,000 to establish academic research grants that will hopefully, develop a malaria vaccine.
Nwoko says the grants shall be available for scientific scholars in Africa, with a proper selection process and body of judges for the most qualified students and researchers to access.
“Malaria is seen as an African problem and it should, therefore, be handled by Africans, but our leaders have not shown the will and determination in this regard.”
“Presently, only six countries out of 54 that make up the African continent are recognized by the World Health Organisation as malaria-free while the remaining 47 are endemic countries,” he said.
