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Africare-Angola hosted American Idol winner Carrie Underwood for a special taping of "Idol Gives Back," a program which aims to raise money and awareness for children and families living in poverty in the U.S. and abroad.

The taping, which focused on initiatives to combat Malaria in Angola, debuted on the popular U.S. television show American Idol on May 12, 2009. Africare supports malaria prevention and control programs in ten countries across the African continent.

Africare=AE Combats Malaria

"How grateful we are for the work Africare is doing! I know I speak on behalf of millions of our people when I say thank you."
Desmond M. Tutu
Archbishop Emeritus
Cape Town, South Africa

"The tragedy of malaria is compounded by the fact that the disease itself is highly treatable and preventable." George W. Bush
Former U.S. President

About Africare

Africare is the oldest and largest African American led organization specializing in development and relief aid to Africa.

Founded in 1970 as a partnership between Africans and a diverse group of Americans, Africare is guided by a single mission: to improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. Since its inception, Africare has provided more than $760 million of development assistance through more than 2,500 projects with millions of beneficiaries across 36 African countries.

Today, under the leadership of President Julius E. Coles, more than 170 Africare programs reach families and communities in some 25 nations in every region of the African continent. Africare projects currently focus on: Food Security and Agriculture; Health and HIV-AIDS; Water and Sanitation; and Emergency and Humanitarian Relief. We also have programs in education, natural resources, democracy and governance, women's empowerment and microfinance.

Malaria in Africa

Malaria kills more than 1 million people worldwide every year, 90% of whom live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Every year in Africa, malaria causes as many as 10,000 maternal deaths and results in spontaneous abortions, neonatal deaths and low birth weight babies. It is the leading cause of death of children under the age of five.

Due to limited access to preventive measures and treatment, the poor are most affected by malaria. The disease has been estimated to cost Africa more than US$ 12 billion every year in lost economic growth; it could be controlled for a fraction of that sum.

Countries in which Africare supports malaria prevention and control programs

Angola, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.

Africare's approach to malaria control

- Promote increased use of insecticide treated bed nets

- Provide intermittent preventive treatment to pregnant women

- Provide direct malaria treatment to children under five

- Promote timely and appropriate behavior for seeking healthcare from community service providers

- Link rural, remote communities with private and public healthcare systems

- Improve the quality of care from health care providers

- Increase malaria treatment and prevention in areas with weak pharmaceutical management and healthcare systems

Recent results

- Distributed more than 77,000 insecticide-treated bed nets in Nigeria, where at least 50% of the population will have a minimum of one episode of malaria annually.

- Increased the number of pregnant women receiving preventive malaria treatment in the Delta region of Nigeria from 2% to 52% in just four years.

- Trained more than 300 nurses in malaria testing, treatment and communication in Angola where the disease accounts for an estimated 35% of deaths in children under five.

- Treated nearly 78,000 children under five for malaria in Benin where the disease accounts for 41% of outpatient visits.

Of every Africare dollar... 93 cents goes to program services in Africa.
Only 7 cents goes to administration.