Writer shares holiday deals that can help Africans

Holidays have become a time when the best deals can be found. It seems that everyone gets in on the action when it comes to buying fantastic gifts for bargain prices and making those close to us happy for the lowest cost.

So, for those of you that enjoy a good bargain, I've got a deal that will absolutely knock your socks off. Ten years ago, if you wanted to reduce the effects of HIV/AIDS on innocent Africans that have no way of treating themselves, you would have to shell out $10,000 for one person. Now, that price has been knocked down to $140 per patient. That's a discount of over 90 percent; try finding that at your local Best Buy.

Speaking of 90 percent, that's exactly the amount of malaria deaths Africa accounts for in the world. What if I told you for a simple $10, you could completely change this? That is exactly the cost of purchasing and distributing a bed net that could very easily ensure a family stays together.

Africa is also the location of one-third of all the tuberculosis (TB) cases, but it doesn't have to be that way. Now on sale for $16-$35, you can help eliminate the impact of this treatable disease through a six-month course that can actually cure people of TB.

Now, if these things were products on a Target shelf when the doors opened at midnight on the Friday after Thanksgiving, would someone get mace in their eyes while another reached up for the last bed net? How many people would be threatened by disgruntled customers who missed out on the last of the TB treatment courses?

Here's an even crazier thought: the National Retail Federation reported 226 million people spent $52.4 billion over the Black Friday weekend. If I'm doing my math correctly, that's enough to buy antiretroviral HIV/AIDS drugs for 374,285,714 Africans. What if all those shoppers all did buy those drugs and save those lives?

I'm not saying buying gifts for each other is bad and that people who wake up at ungodly hours of the morning to join the Black Friday madness are wasting their time. Giving is a reason for the season, and I'm all for that. But, Black Friday has shown us the power we have when we all come together. That kind of excitement and determination can, literally, perform miracles if used in the right way.

And, let's be honest: how important is it REALLY to save 50 percent on an LCD flat screen television that will last, maybe, 11 years? If you take that money and put it toward nets or anti-TB drugs or antiretroviral drugs, that could save not only someone's life, but a family's livelihood. You would be literally giving someone the gift of life, and thanks to the hard work by thousands of social workers and campaigners, that gift can be given at a discount to you.

http://www.gavialliance.org/funding/give-to-gavi/

https://www.wfp.org/donate/fillthecup

http://www.one.org/international/