Last week the UN Summit proclaimed that over 4 million lives can be saved by 2015 if resources are scaled up.
The Global Malaria Action Plan (GMAP) provides a roadmap for eliminating Malaria by accelerating action against the disease. This is a worldwide, comprehensive program including 30 countries and regions and 65 international institutions.
Foundations and corporations announced commitments of $3 billion toward this unprecedented effort. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the World Bank are two organizations that account for the majority of that amount, nearly $2.8 billion over two years.
Another major partner is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation who gave $168.7 million for research on a new generation of malaria vaccines. This is not simply writing a check for the Gates; it’s a cause they are very passionate about.
But all this talk about money might make you wonder if you must be a millionaire to make a difference in this cause.
To truly eliminate this disease it will certainly take a massive campaign such as this. But there’s another grassroots effort supported by the UN called Nothing But Nets that has stirred up much publicity and support. The idea is that a simple net can save a life. One bed net costs just $10 to buy and deliver to individuals in need. Just $10!
Nothing But Nets makes it easy to donate online. They provide fundraising tools for people to raise money for this cause in their communities. The photo above is one of the images they offer that can be freely used to promote local fundraising efforts. There are many other downloadable tools such as press release examples, toolkits, flyers and much more.
So while the problem is HUGE and global, making a difference can be as simple as a net.
