Americans Act Quickly to Save Lives in Central Africa

Today, the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign, PSI (Population Services International), and UNICEF announced the successful delivery of nearly 1 million anti-malaria mosquito nets in the Central African Republic (CAR) — providing one net  to each family in the country.  The families received their nets less than six months after the UN identified an urgent need to protect them against malaria and thousands of Americans rallied to answer the call for help.

To ensure mosquito nets reached homes as quickly as possible, the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets — a global, grassroots campaign to prevent malaria in Africa, partnered with PSI to call on its supporters across the country to help fill the need by the end of 2010.

Singer, actress, and PSI ambassador Mandy Moore helped the campaign raise awareness and encouraged people to donate. “I had the opportunity to meet families, visit clinics, and deliver nets in the Central African Republic, and saw the need first-hand,” said Moore of her trip last October. “The fact that thousands of people around the country came together so quickly to help protect families on the other side of the world is overwhelming, and so inspiring.”

Malaria is prevalent throughout the CAR year-round and is the leading killer of children under the age of five. “The high rate of malaria in this country is a severe problem, and using long-lasting, insecticide-treated nets is one of the best, most cost-effective ways for families to protect themselves from the disease,” said Tanya Chapuisat, Country Representative for UNICEF in CAR. “We are very thankful for the contributions that have helped us distribute nets to save lives.”

“We reached this goal by working together,” said Adrianna Logalbo, director of the Nothing But Nets campaign. “We are grateful for the strong partnerships and dedicated supporters who helped send nets to save lives in the Central African Republic, bringing us one step closer to reaching the goal of ending malaria deaths by 2015.” Nothing But Nets worked with its UN partners — especially UNICEF and the World Health Organization — PSI, and the CAR Ministry of Health to deliver the nets on the ground.

To date, Nothing But Nets has raised more than $35 million to distribute over 4 million nets to families throughout 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. One long-lasting, insecticide-treated net can protect a family of four, and lasts up to three years. A net costs just $10 to purchase, deliver, and educate the recipient on its proper use. 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.  Founding campaign partners include the National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, The people of The United Methodist Church, and Sports Illustrated. 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 PSI
PSI is a leading global health organization with programs targeting malaria, child survival, HIV and reproductive health. Working in partnership within the public and private sectors, and harnessing the power of the markets, PSI provides life-saving products, clinical services and behavior change communications that empower the world’s most vulnerable populations to lead healthier lives. www.psi.org.

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.

About UNICEF
UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.  The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS.  UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

Media contact:
Negin Janati, UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign, njanati@unfoundation.org; 202.378.7858