Nothing But Nets

This has been an awesome year for Nothing But Nets – we can’t believe how much has happened! Every day, our team at the United Nations Foundation is amazed at how this campaign is able to make such a significant impact on the lives of children in Africa. And it’s all thanks to you – our partners and our supporters.  Check out some of our highlights from 2008:

• Celebration of 2 year anniversary of Nothing But Nets
• Engaged communities in Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Los Angeles
• Developed a new online game – Deliver the Net – which tens of thousands of people played around World Malaria Day
• Rick Reilly appeared on The Colbert Report and helped us raise 100,000 bed nets in September alone
• Over 350 Nets Challenge events were held across the country around World Malaria Day
• Launched a new partnership with the UN Refugee Agency to send 275,000 bed nets to refugees in countries in Eastern Africa
• Over 1.5 million nets distributed in Côte d’Ivoire and Central African Republic
• Youth champion Katherine Commale appeared on CNN 

As part of the Chicago Elementary School Netraiser Challenge, Ms. Otero’s 5th grade class at Andrew Jackson Elementary School has been working hard to raise funds for bed nets!  Lt. Governor Pat Quinn and Nothing But Nets launched the Chicago Elementary School Challenge this fall, encouraging elementary school classrooms in the Chicagoland area to make a difference in preventing malaria and saving lives. 

Read more to hear from two of Ms. Otero’s students about their experiences with the Challenge...  

Instead of battling the crowds, traffic and possibly the elements to get your last minute gifts at the mall, give someone the gift that also saves a life this holiday season – an insecticide-treated bed net. The nets are still just $10. And this includes the cost to purchase, distribute and educate families on its proper use. And best of all, you can buy it online in a few seconds while you’re in your pajamas! 

Buy a net in someone’s honor and send them a holiday e-card. You can even print out and sign a card we made especially for you gift-givers. Send a net and save a life today.

Today is an exciting day for the Nothing But Nets campaign, because we have begun distributing nearly 1 million bed nets to children and their families in the Central African Republic to help prevent malaria, a leading cause of death for children in Africa. 

The 740,000 insecticide-treated bed nets will be handed out as part of a national integrated health campaign supported by the Measles Initiative, a partner of ours at the UN Foundation. The national campaign aims to vaccinate children against measles as well as distribute free bed nets to children under the age of five. With your support, Nothing But Nets was able to fund the 740,000 bed nets needed to protect children and their families.

Earlier this week the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a promising clinical trial of a vaccine for malaria. UN Dispatch spoke with Dr. Daniel Carucci Vice President of Global Health for UN Foundation, described what this breakthrough means for the global fight against malaria. 

Can you explain the significance of news this week that a malaria vaccine has apparently proven effective?

The New England Journal of Medicine reported this week that an experimental malaria vaccine, called RTS,S, that has shown promise in clinical studies in adults in the U.S. and in early studies in adults and children in Africa, showed comparable efficacy in infants, the population that would most benefit from the vaccine....

Read the full interview at UN Dispatch here.

This Holiday season consider giving a gift while still making a difference.  If you haven’t already, check out the Nets Store when you can purchase our famous Buzzkill t-shirts and Nothing But Nets hats, for adults and kids of all sizes.  Proceeds from every purchase go to…Nothing But Nets, of course.  And who wouldn’t want to receive some great Nothing But Nets gear this holiday?

Right now, we have a sweet seasonal promotion going on – if you enter the code HOLIDAYS when you’re checking out, you’ll get 20% off your order of t-shirts or hats!

It’s just our way of spreading a little holiday cheer while helping to save a few more lives. Check out the Nets Store today and treat a friend or yourself.

As many of you know, Nothing But Nets has partnered with the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) to send life-saving bed nets to refugee camps throughout Eastern Africa. After a recent surge in violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the distribution of these nets has become more crucial than ever. Nothing But Nets is working with UNHCR to respond to the more than 60,000 Congolese citizens who have been forced into refugee camps in neighboring Uganda.    

What you may not know is that the United Nations Foundation, a founding partner of Nothing But Nets, is also helping in a number of ways to protect and support refugees in Africa.

I recently experienced my first Nothing But Nets campaign event at the Butler-Wyatt Boys & Girls Club Washington D.C., where UNA-NCA and YPIC hosted a Nothing But Nets Basketball Clinic. Nearly 50 youth members from the clubhouse gathered to learn about one of the most important global health issues facing the world today – malaria.

The day started off with brief introductions and remarks from Nothing But Nets Deputy Director Adrianna Logalbo, encouraging participants to become leaders and create awareness about malaria within their communities.