How We Can Kick Out Malaria [The Independent]
Sarah Kline, Executive Director of Malaria No More UK, discusses how football can be a powerful tool in the fight against malaria in this op-ed.

David Beckham Fronts Anti-Malaria Ads [The Guardian]
Beckham stars is ads during UK broadcast of the UEFA Cup, highlighting the fact that “we need nets” in the fight against malaria.

Kids Help Stop Malaria in Africa [National Geographic Kids]
NGK reports-back on the “Be A Star, Save A Live” campaign, which raised over $23,000 from kids who donated their allowances and did extra chores to help fight malaria. This feature includes clips from kids’ notes, which they sent along with their donations.

Must-Reads:

Climate-change disasters kill 300,000 a year [Associated Press]
A new Global Humanitarian Forum report claims that climate-change contributes to 300,000 deaths per year, including an increase in malaria deaths as mosquitoes are able to thrive in new areas.

New fears of anti-malaria drugs [BBC News]
BBC reports on malaria drug resistance in Cambodia, how it is being contained, and what it means for the international effort to fight malaria. 

Moyo’s Confused Attack on Aid for Africa [Huffington Post]
Jeff Sachs and John McArthur explore the concept of ‘Dead Aid’ in an article on the Huffington Post, speaking specifically to her criticisms of malaria aid.

Tanzania introduces new testing kit for malaria [Africa Science News]
Tanzania’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has heightened its war against malaria by introducing a Rapid Diagnoses Tests (RDTs) in all government hospitals.

The Global Humanitarian Forum, an organization led by Kofi Annan, released a report today stating that 300,00 people die every year as a result of climate change.

“Human Impact Report: Climate Change — The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis” suggests that rising sea levels, desertification and changing rainfall patterns are reducing many people’s access to safe drinking water and food. This in turn increases the threat of illness, including malaria.

Climate change and malaria are closely linked, as an increase in the earth’s temperature allows malaria-carrying mosquitoes to thrive in areas that were previously too cold for them to survive.

247 million people are infected with malaria worldwide every year and nearly one million die, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

Today, a new partner launched! Tickets-for-Charity is an innovative way of getting concert-goers in seats and mosquito nets over beds! They partner with artists on tour to offer certain seats through their website, which also allows users to make a donation to their favorite non-profit…including Malaria No More!

Tickets-for-Charity lets fans purchase great seats to high-demand events while supporting the causes they care about. Seats on Tickets-for-Charity’s website are available at face value plus a separate donation amount that benefits participating charities—so fans can help save lives and find great seats to their favorite concerts.

Do good and see great shows? Now, that’s something to sing about!

Goodwin, better than good in patch design contest!

9-year old Emmy Goodwin of Wilton, Connecticut was recently recognized by the Wilton Soccer Association (WSA) and Malaria No More for her winning design in the 2009 Nutmeg Invitational Tournament logo contest. The winning design was chosen from among 50 submissions and will be featured on this year’s tournament t-shirts along side the Malaria No More and United Against Malaria logos. To honor her achievement, WSA President Andy Hoffman presented Emmy with the official jersey of the newly crowned European Cup champions, and long-time supporter of Malaria No More, FC Barcelona.

In the lead up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, The Wilton Soccer Association has dedicated the 2009 Nutmeg Invitational to Malaria No More and the United Against Malaria campaign, which is committed to leveraging the world’s most popular game to raise global awareness and renew worldwide commitment to ending malaria. 

The Nutmeg Invitational Soccer Tournament will take place June 13th and 14th with nearly 60 teams, representing 17 towns across Connecticut. The tournament will feature mosquito net blue goals, United Against Malaria lace guards, and the “How Fast Can You Kick Malaria?” Speed Shot and information booth, helping to educate players, coaches and parents about malaria while testing their shot velocity. Whether teams win or lose on the field, they’ll come away with a major victory against malaria.

United Against Malaria is a partnership of footballers, non-governmental organizations, foundations, governments, and corporations who have joined forces ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa to unite in the fight against malaria. www.unitedagainstmalaria.org

Below is a guest post from MNM UK Executive Director, Sarah Kline:

Sports stars David Beckham, Andy Murray and Denise Lewis are all members of the Leadership Council for Malaria No More UK, which launched in London on April 20 2009. MNM UK has been working to link sport with malaria to spread the message to a broad audience across the UK and internationally.

On May 27, the UEFA champions league final—one of the most-watched sports events in the world—was held in Rome. In the run up to and around the game, MNM UK ran adverts fronted by David Beckham on Sky Sports in the UK, showing how footballers are helping to fight a common enemy: malaria.

In “How We Can Kick Out Malaria”, published in the UK newspaper, The Independent, I talk about why football can be such a powerful weapon in the fight against malaria.

Read the article here and check out www.MalariaNoMore.org.uk for more information on the newest member of Malaria No More’s global network and the great work they’re doing to raise awareness and mobilize the world!

FC Barcelona, Malaria No More’s partners in the “More Than A Club: Kick It To Malaria” partnership, are the new winners of the UEFA Champions League!

In a fierce battle against Manchester United, Barca emerged as the victor with 2 goals scored to Man U’s none. Congratulations to FC Barcelona!

Today may be their first day as UEFA 2009 Champions, but the team has been a champion of the fight against malaria throughout the season:

• FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta and Malian-born player Seydou Keita traveled to Bamako, Mali in March to deliver 1000 mosquito nets to children with Malaria No More
• For World Malaria Day in April, Barça took to the field for opening ceremonies in Malaria No More t-shirts to educate 76,000 screaming fans at Camp Nou
• During their American tour last April, FC Barcelona wore MNM patches on their limited-edition jerseys and participated in a charity tournament in downtown Manhattan
• Joining in the “More Than A Club” spirit, Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) and Fox Sports en Español (FSE) pledged a mosquito net for every goal scored on their networks throughout the season and played FCB/MNM PSAs on-air to get the word out

FC Barcelona has proven that it is much “More Than A Club” when it comes to the fight against malaria—it is united against a common enemy. Learn more about their commitment to ending malaria deaths here.

In West Africa, the griot is the person who delivers news and important messages to the people. He carries oral tradition, local history and commentary on current events to towns and villages, telling stories throughout the country.

In Senegal, one such griotis the world-renowned musician Youssou N’Dour. Youssou—a long-time advocate for malaria control—is bringing his talents as a griot to the fight against malaria in his home country of Senegal, in preparation for a national mosquito net distribution of approximately 2 million nets for children under 5 in June.

Youssou and Malaria No More have teamed up to launch a Surround Sound campaign, involving key sectors of Senegalese society to spread the message that no child need die of malaria and to encourage all Senegalese to protect themselves from the disease. Learn more about the program here.

Along with Youssou, MNM has it’s own griot in Senegal: Martin Edlund is working from the West African nation on this project and chronicling his adventures on a new blog, Dakar Calling.

Be sure to check in for frequent updates about our work in Senegal!

The Patient Capitalist [The Economist]
This piece discusses the Acumen Fund and, in part, its work with the A to Z Factory—specifically discussing how the nets must cost less than $10, which MNM charges. MNM posted a response here.

Local Tennis Community Gives to Charity [Bethany Beach Wave (Delaware)]
Written by Marty Godwin, a professional tennis player, this article shows how a local community in Delaware is helping fight malaria with (tennis) nets.

MTN Steps Up Fight Against Malaria [ITN Africa]
ITN explores the MTN partnership with the malaria community to raise awareness and influence behavior across Africa.

David Beckham stars in anti-malaria campaign [Mad.co.uk]
Charity Malaria No More UK is to launch a public awareness campaign featuring David Beckham next Wednesday (May 27) during Sky Sports’ coverage of the UEFA Champions League final.

Must-Reads:

Malaria Disaster Looms From Bug’s Resistance, China Fakes [Bloomberg]
In Cambodia, the flood of counterfeit pills from China and elsewhere is helping to breed a superbug that resists even the most-effective medicine.

AIDS Activists Criticize Obama Budget for HIV [Voice of America]
African AIDS activists have joined their American counterparts in criticizing the level of funding for international HIV/AIDS programs included in U.S. president Barack Obama’s proposed budget.

Preventative Treatment Against Malaria May be Less Effective in Malnourished Children [Science Daily]
The effectiveness of an intermittent preventative treatment against malaria in infants across Africa may be inhibited by high incidences of malnutrition.

$10 is a nice round number—but it’s a lot more than that. As the millions of individual supporters of the fight against malaria know, it’s also the power to protect a child, give peace of mind to a parent and keep a family together.

Malaria No More was mentioned in an article in this week’s The Economist, which discussed investments in Africa made by the Acumen Fund, including in mosquito nets. Here’s an excerpt: 

The notion of applying business methods to philanthropy is attractive, but does it really work in practice? …it is possible to use the results achieved by charities in the same field as a benchmark. Thus Acumen insists that A to Z’s [a Tanzania-based net manufacturer] bed nets must cost less than the $10 that Malaria No More, a big traditional American charity, says it spends delivering each one it gives away.

Okay, first things first: the $10 mosquito net. It’s true that the net itself does not cost $10—but the $10 price point set by Malaria No More includes the net, transportation, distribution and education costs. Buying the net is just the first step.  It needs to get out in the world to do some good, and that means putting it into the hands of families and being sure that people understand how, when and why to use them. Take a look at our nifty pie-chart for a visual representation of where your $10 goes.

Of course, there are variables. Net manufacturers (including A to Z) compete on the free market for the big contracts, so net costs vary. It costs a lot more to deliver a net to Nigeria than it does to Zambia because of infrastructure. There are different import tariffs to take into account. But the $10 price point is an average, and a guarantee that each donation will deliver at least one net to a family in Africa. Luckily, through strategic investments and close partnership with African countries, we’re sometime able to leverage the $10 investment to get more nets over beds.

BUT NOW—onto the more serious charge. I have to take umbrage to the characterization of Malaria No More as “a big traditional American charity”. Goodness, where to start? Let’s dissect this statement…

• Big: Hmm. Including your author, we’re a whopping 15 people. We’ve got a staff of 4 at the DC Policy Center. And thank heavens for our generous army of good-hearted interns, who help more than they’ll ever know! We’re actually quite small—but like to think we make up for it by being so gosh-darn scrappy.
• Traditional: tre-dish-en-el (noun): relating to the past; accepted as historical. But we’re only 2 1/2 years old! Plus, would a traditional charity do this? Or this? Or this? How ’bout this? I think you get my point. Our M.O. is to find new and innovative ways to tackle a global health problem and to add to the global effort (traditional and otherwise) to end deaths as quickly as possible.
• American: I really have to give a nod here to our international affiliates in the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands, who are doing incredible work to raise awareness and support in their own countries. We’re regularly and proudly out-shined by the wonderful work of our global network.

Phew! Long post but there was a lot to cover. Malaria No More is now considering a number of new taglines, from “Malaria No More: A Small, Unique, Global Organization” to “Malaria No More: A Puny, Wacky, Rag-Tag Gang of Hoodlums”.

Let us know which you prefer.

According to a recent Gallup Poll , “Polls conducted in 23 sub-Saharan African countries reveal that, in most of these countries, more people reported having mosquito nets in their homes in 2008 than they did in 2006. The largest increase was in Benin, where the reported presence of mosquito nets increased from 44% to 79%.”

This is new data, showing some encouraging progress over the past few years—and following up on last year’s WHO World Malaria Report, which includes data through 2006.

That means that there are more nets over beds. And we’re 100% sure that’s good news.