The InterDependent

Nearly one million antimalaria mosquito nets have been delivered to the Central African Republic, a landlocked country about the size of Texas and inhabited by 4.8 million people, providing one net approximately for each family. The nets arrived less than six months after the United Nations identified an urgent need to protect the population from the deadly disease, and Americans responded by donating money to the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign, Population Services International and Unicef.

To ensure that the nets reached people quickly, the Nothing But Nets campaign, which works in Africa, partnered with Population Services International, a Washington nonprofit group that promotes global health, to raise money by the end of 2010. Mandy Moore, the singer-actress and celebrity ambassador for Population Services, also helped raise awareness for the initiative. The nets were delivered by the partners and the government health ministry.

Malaria is prevalent throughout the Central African Republic and is the leading cause of death for children under age 5. The country has one of the highest child mortality rates in the world, with some 173 of 1,000 children dying before their fifth birthday; malaria accounts for about 19 percent of these deaths.

“Long-lasting, insecticide-treated nets are one of the best, most cost-effective ways for families to protect themselves from the disease,” Tanya Chapuisat, the country representative for Unicef in Central African Republic, said in a statement. 

Holtz/Unicef

Nearly one million insecticide-treated nets were recently delivered to the Central African Republic, a landlocked country where malaria is the biggest killer of young children.

Regular use of the nets can decrease malaria mortality by about 20 percent and malaria incidence by 50 percent in children under 5, who, with pregnant women, are most at risk. When combined with early diagnosis and treatment, the use of treated nets can reduce malaria mortality by more than 50 percent, Unicef says.

Nothing But Nets has raised more than $35 million to distribute four million nets to families throughout Africa. One net can last up to three years. A $10 donation buys a net for a family living on as little as $1 a day in a hut or a mud home that lacks screens. The donation also covers distribution and education about the nets.

For more information, go to www.nothingbutnets.net.