January 2020 Champion Spotlight

The Nothing But Nets Champions Council, a grassroots coalition of 600-plus malaria advocates, was at the center of a monumental advocacy victory in 2019.  Our champions helped secure a historic $210 million increase for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, & Malaria.

This funding will impact millions of lives over the next three years and helps ensure continued progress towards the eradication of these three diseases. Our champions also helped secure increased funding for the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), the other primary US funding avenue for malaria programs worldwide.  

This coalition of 609 champions conducted 212 meetings with members of Congress in 2019 – both in-district and on Capitol Hill as part of our annual Leadership Summit’s Advocacy Day. Our champions are also active in their communities, raising funds and awareness through their schools, congregations, businesses, and community groups. These efforts are critical to ensuring that the issue of malaria still resonates in all parts of the country.   

In addition to Congressional and community engagement, Nothing But Nets’ advocacy work prioritizes outreach to young people – the future malaria scientists, researchers, and advocates who may ultimately eradicate this ancient disease. In 2019, Nothing But Nets took youth outreach to the next level by launching the Global Health Fellowship (GHF).

The GHF is creating a network of student advocates across American universities and high schools. The fellowship program will train and empower students to become effective malaria champions – both in their community and on Capitol Hill. In the Fall, we selected 10 student groups to join the inaugural class of GHF fellows.  

If you’d like to learn more about the Nothing But Nets Champions Council or GHF, please contact our Grassroots Advocacy Officer, Wendy Dimas, at wdimas@unfoundation.org.