UN Foundation President & CEO Recognizes Progress, Rallies Continued Fight to End Malaria
Washington, DC (PRWEB) April 25, 2014 -- Kathy Calvin, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation, released the following statement on World Malaria Day:
“No child should die from a mosquito bite, and this World Malaria Day, there is hope that one day no child will.
“Thanks to the hard work of the global community, malaria is on the decline: The World Health Organization estimates that the malaria mortality rate has fallen by 48 percent among children under age 5 and by 42 percent in all age groups over the last decade. This translates into an estimated 3.3 million lives that have been saved by global efforts to control malaria.
“While we’ve made important progress, our work is far from complete. A child still dies of malaria every 60 seconds. Earlier this year, I visited the UNHCR Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya where I saw children suffering from malaria. These children are a sobering reminder that we can’t stop our work until this devastating disease is gone for good.
“All children deserve the chance to lead healthy lives, which is why we must sustain these gains we’ve made and accelerate efforts to control and eliminate malaria."
“The United Nations, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the President’s Malaria Initiative, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other partners continue to perform essential work. The international community must make sure they have the support and resources they need to get the job done. Each of us can play a role in raising the awareness, funds, and will to fight malaria.
“To mark World Malaria Day this month, the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign convened national partners, local communities, schools, and individuals in a month-long challenge to Compete to Beat Malaria, raising awareness, funds, and voices to fight malaria. We’ve seen countless sports tournaments, a nationwide juggle-a-thon, and 5K races to help fight malaria. Thousands are doing their part to help the campaign and our UN partners deliver life-saving bed nets to protect families in sub-Saharan Africa from the disease.
“Millions of children and their families are counting on us. This World Malaria Day, let’s take action to end malaria for good.”
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Contact:
Rachel Henderson
Senior Communications Officer, Nothing But Nets
rhenderson(at)unfoundation(dot)org
202.739.2782
About Nothing But Nets
Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in sub-Saharan Africa. Inspired by sports columnist Rick Reilly, hundreds of thousands of people have joined the campaign that was created by the United Nations Foundation in 2006. Since then, Nothing But Nets has raised more than $50 million to deliver more than 7.25 million bed nets to families in need. Campaign partners include the National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, Junior Chamber International, and Major League Soccer’s MLS W.O.R.K.S. It costs $10 to purchase and deliver an insecticide-treated bed net, provide education on its proper use, and provide other malaria reduction interventions that can prevent this deadly disease. Visit http://www.NothingButNets.net to send a net and help save a life.
About The United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by global corporations, foundations, governments, and individuals. For more information, visit http://www.unfoundation.org.
Rachel Henderson, United Nations Foundation, +1 (202) 739-2782, [email protected]
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