Delta partners Red Cross in malaria prevention

Delta Air Lines has announced a partnership with the Ghana Red Cross Society to fund and implement a long-year malaria prevention campaign in four districts in Ghana.

The health education activities will be reaching children under five years of age and pregnant women through the distribution of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLIN) through the ‘Hang Up and Keep Up Campaign’.

The project which is in complement with the National Malaria Control Programme will be implemented in the Greater Accra and Upper East Regions. The Ghana Red Cross Society will recruit 80 volunteers and train them to carry out the proposed activities. This will enable each volunteer to be responsible for 20 households per the project period giving a cumulative households total of 1,600.

The treated nets will be procured and distributed by Ghana Red Cross Society distributed centres, Mothers’ Clubs and also churches and mosques. A total of 4,000 nets will be procured and distributed as part of the programme, with a total number of 8,000 beneficiaries.

Mr. Perry Cantarutti, Delta Airline s Senior Vice President Europe, Middle East and Africa in address said “Delta is committed to positively impacting the communities it operate services to and I am delighted that we are able to help reduce under-five mortality and morbidity through this scheme in Ghana.

This scheme runs in association with our partners to provide support through individual, household and community levels and I reaffirm our commitment to Ghana and its people.”

On his part, the President of the Ghana Red Cross Society, Dr. Michael Agyekum Addo said “this collaboration with Delta Air Lines is a demonstration of our common objective to alleviate human suffering and promote the wellbeing of the people, particularly at the grass root level.

The Ghana Red Cross Society has been at the forefront of the fight against Malaria for years, and this project will go a long way to reinforce the success chalked in the past.”

Delta has existing national partnership with the American Red Cross providing a variety of opportunities to help alleviate suffering by maintaining a standing offer of complementary cargo and passenger space.

The airline has operated services to Ghana since December 2006 and now operates service to five African cities in five countries. Delta has grown from 22 weekly departures to and from Africa in December 2006 to more than 50 planned for summer 2014.

Through the hubs in Atlanta and New York-JFK, Delta offers an unsurpassed network of hundreds of convenient onward connections.

The company serves nearly 165 million customers each year. It was named by Fortune magazine as the most admired airline worldwide in its 2013 World’s Most Admired Companies airline industry list, topping the list for second time in three years.

With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 322 destinations in 59 countries on six continents. Headquarted in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft.

The airline is a founding member of the Sky Team global alliance and participates in the industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia including its worldwide alliance partners; it also offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights.

Delta is currently investing more than $3 billion in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground.