7 Billion Reasons to Be the Generation to End Malaria Deaths

Washington, D.C.

October 27, 2011

Contact:

Megan Rabbitt

As the world prepares to welcome the 7 billionth child, Chris Helfrich, Director of the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign — a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria in Africa — issued the following statement.

“Approximately half of the world’s population is at risk of contracting malaria, according to the World Health Organization. Despite effective tools to stop it from spreading, malaria continues to kill a child in Africa every 45 seconds. As the world reaches its 7 billionth person, the need for bed nets and other malaria prevention and treatment tools has never been more pressing. We are thankful for the hundreds of thousands of supporters across the U.S. who are helping us protect millions of families across Africa — where more than 90 percent of malaria deaths occur. We know that working together we can be the generation to end deaths from malaria.”

BACKGROUND
In Africa, every 45 seconds, a child dies from malaria, which is easily prevented through the use of an insecticide-treated net. The nets create a protective barrier against mosquitoes at night, when the vast majority of malaria transmissions occur, and are the most cost-effective method of preventing the spread of the disease.

Anyone can join the fight against malaria with a $10 donation. One hundred percent of each donation goes to purchasing a net, delivering it to a family, and educating communities on its importance and proper use.

Bed nets work: according to the World Health Organization, enough bed nets have been delivered to cover 76 percent of the 765 million people at risk for malaria, and in three years, 11 African countries have cut malaria rates in half.

To date, Nothing But Nets has raised more than $35 million to distribute more than 4 million nets to families throughout Africa. For more information, please visit www.NothingButNets.net.

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About Nothing But Nets
Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Inspired by sports columnist Rick Reilly, hundreds of thousands of people have joined the campaign that was created by the United Nations Foundation in 2006. Campaign partners include the National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, The people of The United Methodist Church, and Major League Soccer’s MLS W.O.R.K.S. It only costs $10 to provide an insecticide-treated bed net that can prevent this deadly disease. Visit www.NothingButNets.net to send a net and save a life.

About the United Nations Foundation 
The United Nations Foundation, a public charity, was created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic $1 billion gift to support UN causes and activities. We build and implement public/private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and work to broaden support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach. Through our campaigns and partnerships, we connect people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. These campaigns focus on reducing child mortality, empowering women and girls, creating a new energy future, securing peace and human rights, and promoting technology innovation to improve health outcomes. These solutions are helping the UN advance the eight global targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For more information, visit www.unfoundation.org.

Media Contact:
Negin Janati, United Nations Foundation
202-378-7858; njanati@unfoundation.org