A child dies of malaria every 30 seconds, according to the World Health Organization. In Africa, one in every five childhood deaths is due to the disease.

Statistics such as these motivate the Rotarians who are working on malaria control. They have banded together to form Rotarians Eliminating Malaria – A Rotarian Action Group, which was recognized by the RI Board in 2005.

The group has about 150 members, though many more Rotarians are working on projects in the field of malaria. About US$3 million in grants has been awarded by The Rotary Foundation toward malaria projects over the past decade.

The malaria action group functions as an umbrella association, building a network to keep tabs on Rotary projects in all corners of the world. The group has contacts in countries with malaria projects, and it acts as a resource to prevent duplication of efforts, promote best practices, and connect interested parties.

“It doesn’t matter where you’re working, [the group] is trying to follow what’s going on around the world,” says Brian Stoyel, past president of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland and chair of the action group.

For example, the group was recently contacted by a Rotary club in Canada that wanted to conduct a malaria project in Liberia. The action group referred the club to Canadian Rotarians Against Malaria, an organization that carries out malaria projects.

“The Rotarian Action Group on malaria has been instrumental in helping various groups connect the dots,” says Drake Zimmerman, vice chair of the group and a member of the Rotary Club of Normal, Ill., USA.

In addition to monitoring malaria work within Rotary, the action group works with outside organizations to help foster understanding of the big picture in malaria control. Zimmerman, for example, represents the action group in the Alliance for Malaria Prevention, a consortium of more than 20 organizations working on malaria control.