Mandy Moore Calls for Nets from West Africa

This week, actress, singer and humanitarian Mandy Moore arrived in Cameroon to raise awareness for the nation’s first-ever countrywide distribution of anti-malaria mosquito nets. Malaria is the number one cause of death in Cameroon among children under five.

Moore is traveling with PSI (Population Services International), an international global health organization for which she has been a long-time Ambassador; and the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets — a global, grassroots campaign to end malaria in Africa. Nothing But Nets recently launched an appeal to rush 225,000 life-saving nets to Cameroon in time for the distribution.

“I’m meeting the people who need these nets to stay safe from malaria — from two-year-olds to the Prime Minister,” said Moore. “I’m proud to be a part of this historic effort that will save thousands of lives here in Cameroon, and grateful for the help of so many American supporters who are donating to make this possible.”

A child dies every 45 seconds from malaria, a disease that can be spread by a single mosquito bite. These deaths could be easily prevented with simple and cost-effective prevention tools like insecticide-treated nets, which can curb malaria transmission by 90 percent in areas with high coverage rates. Nothing But Nets is teaming up with UNICEF and PSI to make sure families in Cameroon get the nets they need as quickly as possible.

“It’s hard to believe that a preventable disease kills more people in Cameroon than anything else,” said Nothing But Nets director Chris Helfrich. “The good news is we know nets work. We’ve seen our supporters come together to send life-saving nets to families across Africa, and we are confident that we will meet the need to quickly protect families here in Cameroon.”

Tweet me: Malaria is the #1 cause of death in Cameroon — send a net & save a life today w/ @NothingButNets http://bit.ly/pYXNbu

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. It costs just $10 to purchase and deliver a net, and to educate communities on its importance and proper use.

This landmark, large-scale bed net distribution in Cameroon is a crucial step in reaching the global goal of ending malaria deaths by 2015. 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 unfoundation.org

About PSI
PSI is a leading global health organization with programs targeting malaria, child survival, HIV, reproductive health, and non-communicable diseases. Please visit our website www.psi.org, follow PSI on twitter at twitter.com/PSIHealthyLives, or subscribe to PSI’s blog at www.psihealthylives.com.

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