150+ Canadians Day 144: Debra Lefebvre

Image: Debra Lefebvre on Twitter

Debra Lefebvre contributes to peace by working to stop the spread of malaria. #Canada150

Debra Lefebvre founded Buy-a-Net Malaria Prevention Group after working as a registered nurse for a charity in a Ugandan health clinic. Discovering the impact of malaria on the population there, she returned to Canada and looked for ways to solve the problem.

Buy-a-Net began fundraising to buy insecticide-treated nets for people to use around their beds to keep malaria-carrying insects from infecting them when they slept. The group also provides malaria medications.

The group approaches malaria-prevention and treatment “one village at a time”, training local people to become health leaders in their communities. It has partnered with Canadian-based Healthy Children Uganda and with local Ugandan organizations. In eight years, the incidence of malaria deaths in Uganda dropped by one-third.

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