Celebrities, Students, and World Leaders Come Together to Raise Awareness on World Malaria Day

Today, The United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign is marking World Malaria Day with a series of activities in New York to highlight a few of the thousands of Champions in the fight against malaria.

Actress Mandy Moore and NBA Legend Dikembe Mutombo will join fellow Champions to kick off the day by launching a dynamic public service announcement to bring the issue of malaria to the famous Toshiba Vision screen in Times Square. The PSA will air in the crossroads of New York City through May 21 to deliver the message that anyone can become a Champion to help end malaria.

“You don’t have to be a celebrity or a world leader to make an impact. Anyone can be a Champion by helping Nothing But Nets to send life-saving bed nets to families in Africa,” said Elizabeth Gore, Executive Director of Global Partnerships for the UN Foundation.

The high-impact PSA features portraits from the Champions to End Malaria Exhibit, to open this evening during a reception with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The exhibit, hosted by the UN Foundation and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, depicts the many, diverse individuals and partners who Champion the fight against malaria by raising funds and awareness to combat the disease. This larger-than-life, interactive exhibit honors Ted Turner, George Bush, Tony Blair, Awa Coll-Seck, grassroots supporters, and UN Special Envoy on Malaria, named among TIME’s 100 most influential, Ray Chambers, as captured by world-renowned photographer Platon.

Malaria is a leading killer of refugees and children in Africa, where a child dies every 45 seconds from the preventable and treatable disease. Every day, however, individuals all over the world are sharing their time, skills, and platform to raise awareness and resources to help reach the UN goal to end malaria deaths by 2015.

Right now, supporters across the country are helping Nothing But Nets and the UN Refugee Agency send life-saving bed nets to the more than 70,000 people who have fled ongoing violence in Cote d’Ivoire to seek shelter in Liberia. In honor of World Malaria Day, anyone can be a champion by sending a net to save a life in Liberia, before the rainy season hits in May.

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. Log on to www.NothingButNets.net to learn more.

Tweet me: ANYONE can be a #Champion in the fight against #malaria. Help @nothingbutnets to send a net and save a life on #WorldMalariaDay.

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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 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.