ON THE FIRST WORLD MALARIA DAY, THE ROLL BACK MALARIA ZAMBEZI EXPEDITION ARRIVES IN LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA

The Zambezi River, a lifeline for southern Africa, is currently the setting of a dramatic health project to fight against one of the globe’s leading infectious killers. That project, the Roll Back Malaria Zambezi Expedition, landed in Livingston today, the half way point of its 2500 kilometer voyage. The Expedition is one of many activities taking place in 2008 as part of the first ever World Malaria Day, whose theme is “Malaria – a disease without borders”.

The Expedition, launched 29 March, comprises four inflatable boats carrying health officials, crew and filmmakers. The two-month voyage started in a remote corner of Angola at the source of the river and will finish mid-May in its delta. The team is travelling through Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Along the shores of each country the crew stops to take on board local malaria control staff, document the malaria situation in remote river communities, and hand out insecticide treated nets and malaria medicines. By exposing the difficulties of delivering nets and medications to remote areas, the Zambezi Expedition will demonstrate that only a coordinated cross-border action can force the disease to recoil and turn the lifeline of southern Africa into a “River of Life” for those threatened by malaria.

For more information: www.zambezi-expedition.org