RED Distribution released the Indie Rocks! benefit album today, with 100% of the proceeds going to Malaria No More. The digital-download album is available exclusively through Amie Street until December 17th.

The digital-download album features Juliette Lewis, The Walkmen and Youssou N’Dour, plus an unreleased track from Third Eye Blind and an exclusive cover track from Peter, Bjorn, & John.

Tamara Horton, our partner in this venture, and her colleagues came to us with this brilliant idea because she decided that “…rather than using our connections for great seats and backstage access, let’s use them in a way that will impact many, many others in a positive light for years to come. I’ve always been a fan of Malaria No More (thanks to the boys at FC Barcelona for bringing them on my radar!) and decided to reach out to them with our idea…”

And thus, a match made in music and humanitarian heaven was made. Every $10 album will help Malaria No More empower families in Africa to protect themselves and their children from the bite of a malarial mosquito by providing access to mosquito nets and effective medicines.

Learn more about the album and buy your copy today or give it as a holiday gift! There’s nothing better than giving the gift of music and helping to save lives at the same time. Children sleeping safely? That’s music to our ears…

Yesterday the White House officially announced the nomination of Dr. Rajiv Shah to be be Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. Read an excerpt from the announcement and the Malaria Policy Center blog:

President Obama said, “The mission of USAID is to advance America’s interests by strengthening our relationships abroad.   Rajiv brings fresh ideas and the dedication and impressive background necessary to help guide USAID as it works to achieve this important goal.  I am grateful for all that USAID has accomplished under the leadership of Acting Administrator Alonzo Fulgham, and the thousands of career men and women who fulfill USAID’s mission day in and day out – particularly their hard work in jumpstarting a landmark initiative to bring more than $20 billion for agriculture development to the world’s most food-insecure countries.  I look forward to working with Rajiv in the months and years ahead.”

Chefs run the New York City marathon [Time Out New York]
Olivier Muller, Executive Chef at db Bistro, dishes on his diet while training for the marathon. He’s running for Malaria No More this weekend.

Cornerstone Students Win Chance to Pie their Principle and Fight Malaria [WTOP-FM]
Corner Schools hosted a Stayin’ Alive Dance to benefit the fight against malaria and the class that raised the most money won the chance to pie their principle in the face. Wendy from the MNM Policy Center visited the school to speak to the children about malaria.

Road Runners: Social Set Preps for the Marathon [WWD.com]
This Sunday, members of the “chic set”, including Olivier Muller, will compete in the ING NYC Marathon. Olivier is running for the Malaria No More team.

Gary Ginsberg and John Damonti Join Malaria No More Board of Directors [Reuters]
We welcomed two new members to our Board of Directors this week as Gary Ginsberg, EVP of Global Marketing and Corporate Affairs at News Corporation, and John Damonti, President of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, joined to support our mission.

Must-Reads

Bill Gates urges more spending on global health [Associated Press]
Bill and Melinda Gates made a personal appeal to Washington officials Tuesday night, asking them to continue funding global health initiatives despite the recession and to commit to nearly halve the number of child deaths worldwide by 2025. The appeal was made through the new ‘Living Proof Project’ that shares personal stories from people who have benefited from U.S. spending on global health.

Nigeria: Help for Fighting Malaria [New York Times]
In its largest single malaria undertaking, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced last week that Nigeria would receive grants worth $285 million over two years to distribute 30 million antimalarial bed nets.

5 Simple Solutions to Global Problems [ABC News]
IV developed a plan for targeting mosquitoes via the photonic fence. Once mosquitoes are identified by their wingbeat frequency, a sensor locks on them, targets them and shoots them out of the sky with lasers.

ThinkSocial Awards: World Malaria Day “Twitter Challenge for Malaria No More” [Think Social]
We’ve been recognized for our collaborative social media work with Ashton Kutcher and Katalyst around World Malaria Day 2009. We look forward to hearing the final results on November 5^th.

Legends, Industry Leaders Praise Patron Highcroft’s Championship Success [PaddockTalk]
Scott Case was quoted in this online article saying: “Members of the Patrón Highcroft team were champions before they ever stepped on the track through their commitment to the Miles To End Malaria program.”

Must-Reads

A taste for bold ideas — chewing gum to detect malaria? [Seattle Times]
As part of its Grand Challenges Exploration program, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation granted $100,000 to researchers hoping to use chewing gum and chocolate to fight malaria.

Players kick off World Cup anti-malaria fight [Reuters]
Footballers are teaming up with governments, companies and international health campaigners to push the “United Against Malaria” campaign, which will start next month and run until the end of the World Cup.

Zimbabwe: Aid groups worry about govt disarray [Associated Press]
Aid workers report the disarray of the government of Zimbabwe is putting its most vulnerable citizens at risk as hunger and disease threatens to sweep the country. Luckily, the U.N.’s Roll Back Malaria Partnership has been able to work with the new government to ensure insecticide was distributed before the rainy season.

Yesterday, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced their latest round of the Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges Exploration grants and some of the recipients have tasty ideas for attacking malaria. According to the Seattle Times:

Andrew Fung of the UCLA aims to develop chewing gum that can detect the presence of malaria in a person’s saliva. Fung calls his diagnostic tool “MALiVA.” During chewing, particles in the gum will react with malaria proteins, which can be detected and characterized when the gum is scanned with a magnet.

Steven Maranz of Weill Cornell Medical College will test a compound contained in chocolate to find out whether providing children high levels of flavanols, found in chocolate, green tea and nuts, deprives malaria parasites of lipids needed to survive, keeping the infection at levels low enough to elicit a strong immune response and build lifelong immunity. The chocolate “medicine” will be delivered in a liquid form, similar to hot chocolate, because the cocoa in most chocolate bars has been altered with most helpful elements removed.

These ideas are among dozens of unconventional approaches to global health problems that won backing yesterday. Read about the other winning ideas here.

What’s Happening This Week: A Festival of Lights; An Absinthe Tasting [Village Voice Fork in the Road Blog]
If you’re running the marathon this year, order the special prix-fixe “Marathon Meal” and $10 will go to Malaria No More. Executive Chef Olivier Muller is running the marathon to raise funds and awareness for Malaria No More.

Menu News from Beer Table, DB Bistro, Ed’s Lobster [Eater.com]
This Sunday, DB Bistro Moderne chef Olivier Muller is offering a 3 course lunch with wine pairings for $65 to benefit Malaria No More.

Marathon Menus: Carmellini’s All-You-Can-Eat Pasta and DB Bistro’s Ravioli Feast [NYMag’s Grub Street Blog]
DB Bistro’s Marathoner’s Menu, a $55 affair consists of dishes like avocado salad, whole-wheat chicken ravioli, and apple-and-raisin clafoutis.

Brabham launches 2010 Karting Challenge [Crash]
David Brabham, winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours and newly crowned champion of the 2009 American Le Mans Series, has been announced as a Special Ambassador for Malaria No More UK.

Student educates on Malaria [The Daily Illini]
Chris Duff, junior in LAS, was a finalist in the “World Briefing: Telling the Malaria Story” contest, co-sponsored by Malaria No More and Novartis.

Must-Reads

Extreme Genetic Variability In Malaria Parasite Found [ScienceDaily]
Researchers at the University of Maryland have catalogued the genetic difference among the mosquitoes responsible for spreading malaria. By mapping these differences, designers of vaccines can work to formulate an effective drug.

US boosts fight against malaria with Sh2 billion [The Standard]
In Kenya, news is breaking of USAID, President’s Malaria Initiative grants being made to fight malaria. The work of two different local NGOs will focus on the lives of 400,000 woman and children in an effort to get everyone under the age of five to sleep under a bed net.

Ugly Betty Teams with United Nations to Fight Malaria [The Seattle Times]
Malaria awareness makes it debut on the hit show “Ugly Betty” this season.  Airing on Oct. 16, the two-hour special will feature efforts by the main character, Betty Suarez, to draw attention to the “Nothing But Nets” campaign.

Idol Gives Back Returns! [American Idol]
American Idol announced this week that it will host the third-ever “Idol Gives Back” charity special on April 21, 2010. Confirmed beneficiaries include Children’s Health Fund, Feeding America, Malaria No More, Save the Children’s U.S. Programs and the United Nations Foundation. This news was picked up by all major media outlets, including CBS News, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, MSNBC.com, US Weekly and USA Today.

DB Bistro’s Marathoner’s Menu [Food & Wine Blog]
Olivier Muller, the chef at Manhattan’s db Bistro Moderne is gearing up for the ING NYC Marathon on November 1^st with a special dinner menu for his fellow runners based on his own training diet. The price of each meal includes a $10 donation to Malaria No More.

How Hollywood finds its charitable causes [Times Online]
Meet the talent agencies who match influential charities with celebrities. It was CAA that arranged for FC Barcelona to team up with the Fox soccer channel and to back Malaria No More.

Anna Ackerman ‘12 Helping Create Buzz Around Malaria Awareness [Bowdoin News]
Anna Ackerman ‘12 was among ten finalists of The World Briefing: Telling the Malaria Story contest vying for the opportunity to learn and write about malaria in Africa — from Africa.

Must-Reads

Commentary: Where have all the malaria patients gone? [CNN.com]
Tachi Yamada, President of the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, wrote about his most memorable image from a trip to Zanzibar: a pediatric hospital ward with a dozen beds and not a single patient in them. That is because Zanzibar has virtually eliminated malaria over the past five years.

Malaria in Africa: The net gains of keeping mosquitoes at bay [Telegraph UK]
The WHO has set a target to provide mosquito nets to all those at risk by 2010. But providing the nets is just half the battle. There is a real concern about what will happen after 2010.

Half the Sky: Q&A with Nicholas Kristof [The Seattle Times]
In a Q&A with Nicholas Kristof about his book “Half the Sky,” the editor asked Kristof if he thought too much money was going towards fighting malaria. He responded, “It’s hugely important to fight malaria, and I don’t think we should walk away from that.”

On the Move: Joe Lagani, Jeff Smith, Robert Blackman [AdAge.com]
Jeff Smith has joined Malaria No More as its chief marketing officer. He brings over 15 years of general management, marketing strategy and business development to his new role at the nonprofit organization.

Justin Guarini getting married this weekend, Melinda Doolittle at Road Atlanta this Saturday, radio airplay update [AJC.com]
Melinda Doolittle was at Road Atlanta this past Saturday to sing the national anthem and promote the “Miles To End Malaria” program, a partnership between Malaria No More and current ALMS leading team, Patrón Highcroft Racing.

Six good questions with Elle’s event coordinator Carlye Wund [San Diego News Network]
Carlye Wund is an event coordinator for The Good Squad’s partner Elle Communications, and volunteers with Kick 4 Hope. Kick 4 Hope benefits Grassroots Soccer, Charity Water, and Malaria No More.

Must-Reads

Malaria bed-net war [CNN Video]
Nigeria launches a large scale counter-attack against malaria. Thanks to huge investments by the World Bank, USAID and others, Nigeria is distributing 63 million mosquito nets in just 18 months.

U.N. Cites Global Rise in Detection and Treatment of AIDS [New York Times]
In the United Nations 2009 progress report on H.I.V. and AIDS it was noted that the number of people being tested for H.I.V. more than doubled in dozens of countries last year and the ranks of people taking antiretroviral drugs in the developing world rose by more than a million to surpass four million people globally.

ExxonMobil & American Idol Elliott Yamin Support Malaria Prevention at Angola Orphanage and School [Welt Online]
Exxon Mobil Corporation and American Idol finalist Elliott Yamin have teamed up to support new malaria prevention projects at the Saint Isabel Orphanage and School in Luanda, Angola.

Victoria Beckham, Stephen Webster and Malaria No More [Celebrity Baby Blog]
Victoria Beckham was recently spotted out-and-about wearing a “mosquito ring.” She explains, “malaria is such an important issue, killing more children under five in Africa than any other single disease,” Victoria went on to add, “I’m crossing my fingers this collaboration will generate loads of buzz.” From all the recent coverage, it looks like Victoria is getting her wish.

L.A. Council confirms Keisha Whitaker to children’s commission [Los Angeles Daily News]
Keisha Whitaker was appointed to the Commission for Children, Youth and their Families. Whitaker has traveled the world with her family to promote charities like Hope North, an orphanage in northern Uganda, and Malaria No More. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed her to the unpaid volunteer position on Aug. 28.

Must-Reads

African leaders ally to eradicate deadly malaria [Associated Press]
African states launched a campaign on Wednesday to stop malaria from killing an estimated 1 million people on their continent each year. The objective of the 20-member African Leaders Malaria Alliance is to eradicate nearly all malaria deaths by the end of 2015.

A Tiny Tax Could Do a World of Good [New York Times]
Philippe Douste-Blazy, the French foreign minister from 2005 to 2007, and chairman of Unitaid published an Op-Ed story about how he thinks the G-20 nations could help both the poor and the global economy by fully financing lagging efforts to fight poverty and disease worldwide by imposing a very small tax on the prosperous foreign exchange industry.

Combo vaccine reduces risk of HIV infection, researchers say [CNN]
A vaccine to prevent HIV infection has shown modest results for the first time, raising hopes that a disease that kills millions every year may someday be beaten.

Today at the United Nations, African Leaders will gather to launch the African Leaders Malaria Alliance, an influential forum for reviewing progress, addressing challenges and crafting solutions to meet malaria targets. The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria, Ray Chambers, has noted that real malaria gains will only be made with support from the very top of government.

Many African presidents, including Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, have made malaria a priority in their countries and other African leaders are signaling their commitment to ending malaria deaths within their borders and across the African continent.

In this interview with Voice of America (mp3), Ray Chambers discusses progress in the fight against malaria and the common goal of ending preventable malaria deaths in Africa by 2015, as well as the economic benefits of defeating malaria.

And on BBC World Radio (mp3), Chambers notes that we’re at a unique moment in time, in which we have the tools and the resources to fight malaria. He says that he’s not aware of any other issue in which people from all walks of life—government, NGOs and individuals–have come together to battle a disease so successfully.

Learn more at the new website, www.ALMA2015.org.