Nothing But Nets Campaign Aims to Fight Malaria in Africa (1/2)

Nothing But Nets is a campaign to give families in Africa free bed nets to prevent malaria" class="hjdict" word="malaria" target=_blank>malaria. Malaria is preventable and treatable, yet it remains one of the world's deadliest diseases. Another person dies from it about every thirty seconds. Most of the victims are children and most of the deaths are in Africa. Africa suffers more than a million deaths from malaria each year.

Nothing But Nets is a campaign of the United Nations Foundation. The nets are manufactured by Sumitomo of Japan and the Danish company Vestergaard Frandsen. The nets are treated with insecticides that kill mosquitoes, which spread malaria.

The campaign collects donations. People are asked to give at least ten dollars. Elizabeth McKee Gore heads the campaign. She says the nets cost about five dollars; the other half of the donation covers training and distribution costs.

Local health workers are taught how to hang and take care of the nets, then they train their neighbors. The campaign says each net lasts up to seven years.