Nothing But Nets Campaign

Summary

A grassroots campaign in which the United Methodist Church partners with the United Nations Foundation, Sports Illustrated, the National Basketball Association, Millennium Promise and the Measles Initiative. Nothing but Nets provides insecticide-treated mosquito nets to people in even the hard-to-reach areas of Africa to help reduce the incidence of malaria.

Description

"Nothing But Nets" is a grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Partners in "Nothing But Nets" include the United Methodist Church, the United Nations Foundation, Sports Illustrated, the National Basketball Association, Millennium Promise and the Measles Initiative. The United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries and the United Methodist Communications are coordinating the church's participation in the campaign, which will include a major initiative for youth groups.

The goal is to raise funds to eradicate malaria in Africa, where the mosquito-borne disease causes the death of one-fifth of all children under 5 years old. Hanging nets over children while they sleep is a simple, inexpensive way to kill mosquitoes or keep them from

The campaign asks for a $10 contribution. The first $7 purchases and distributes the nets, which can cover up to four family members as they sleep. The last $3 pays for community workers to educate families on how to use the insecticide-treated bed nets.

Bed nets prevent malaria transmission by creating a protective barrier against mosquitoes at night, when the vast majority of transmissions occur. The African malaria mosquitoes generally bite late at night or early morning, between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. A bed net is usually hung above the center of a bed or sleeping space so that it completely covers the sleeping person. A net treated with insecticide offers about twice the protection of an untreated net and can reduce the number of mosquitoes that enter the house and the overall number of mosquitoes in the area. Currently, nets are treated with pyrethroid insecticides. These insecticides have very low levels of toxicity to humans, but are highly toxic to insects. By repelling the mosquitoes, a bed net can protect other people in the room outside the net. When enough nets are used in an area, the insecticide used in the net fabric makes entire communities safer even for those individuals who donít have nets.

Although $10 for a bed net may not sound like much, the cost makes them out of reach for most people at risk of malaria in Africa, where many people survive on less than $1 a day. Malaria has been brought under control and even eliminated in many parts of Asia, Europe and the Americas. Yet in Africa, malaria infections have actually increased over the last three decades. Malaria is a leading cause of death of children in Africa, killing nearly one million children each year. Every day 3,000 children die from the disease.

The gifts through the Advance will help the people of the United Methodist Church participate in this life saving malaria program.