Last year, we wrote a series of posts about Togo’s safety. We covered situational awareness, animals, and just general things. But one thing we mentioned was vaccinations and the possibility of getting malaria.

So you can imagine my excitement when I ran across this article earlier in the week:

Three countries (Ghana, Malawi, and now Kenya) are piloting a malaria vaccine through the World Health Organization. This vaccine, administered in four doses, is designed to protect against malaria, particularly when coupled with other prevention techniques, such as using mosquito nets and bug spray.

Worldwide, about 290,000 children under the age of five die from malaria annually. Two hundred ninety thousand. The World Health Organization says that somewhere in the world, a child dies from malaria approximately every two minutes.

As our family prepares to move to West Africa to serve in discipleship and children’s ministry, I can’t help but think of those little kiddos who died from a simple mosquito bite. What a tragedy.

Soon, we will be posting a link to our Amazon wish list with items we hope to pack onto our shipping container. Top of the list? Some good quality water filters and mosquito nets.

I’m thankful for advances in medicine, and even more thankful that God is our ultimate protector and healer.