We are delighted to have ended 2009 by receiving a significant donation, CAN$125,000, from a private individual in Canada. Wow!
This donation will buy more than 25,000 long-lasting insecticidal nets. We are ecstatic at how many children and others this will protect. We have been told the donation was influenced by the great impact nets have per $ spent and the transparency of what we do, as reported recently by the GiveWell website.
Every donation, no matter how large or small matters because every net matters.
We hope to contribute even more towards reducing malaria in 2010.
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Thanks to you and others we have now passed $5 million raised! That's 1,169,735 nets (as I write) funded and distributed. 100% of the money we receive buys nets. Thanks for your support. It is hugely appreciated.
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Peter Gostelow is now over 3 months into his epic cycle from the UK to Cape Town, South Africa. After many adventures cycling through Europe he has now reached Africa (via Spain - Morocco). Peter's fundraising cycle has already raised enough to buy over 1,000 long-lasting insecticidal nets, protecting on average 2,000 children. You can read all about Peter's journey on his blog: http://www.thebigafricacycle.com as well as viewing some of the fantastic pictures he has taken along the way. You can support and encourage him via his fundraising page: http://www.AgainstMalaria.com/petergostelow
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It is great to see that another organisation has selected us as their recommended charity for giving to malaria. Giving What We Can is a relatively new charity, which encourages its members to give up to 10 per cent of their income to relieve suffering in the developing world. Its focus, beyond promoting this pledge, is to then provide advice on the best places for giving so that people can feel reassured that their money is being used most effectively. That is why we are especially pleased that, of malaria charities, they recommend Against Malaria.
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Against Malaria's mission to fight malaria by distributing nets was validated on Tuesday November 17 when the Global Fund announced they were committing EUR37 million over five years to treat and prevent malaria in Brazil. The Global Fund committing capital after learning that a reported 99% of malaria transmission in Brazil happens in the Amazon. While the project aims to both prevent and treat, it specifically mentions the planned distribution of insecticidal mosquito nets, actions Against Malaria have been taking for years. In addition to countless net distributions across Africa, Against Malaria has already distributed 2,000 nets in Peru thanks to a partnership with Amazon Promise, and 3,500 nets in Nicaragua, via a partnership with Project Concern International. Every individual can continue to help save lives by donating to Against Malaria, which has no administrative costs and puts 100% of donations toward net purchases.
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We are very grateful to Citi who have provided us with free global banking since we began. Citi have chosen to showcase our relationship in their latest 'Case Studies for Corporate and Public Sector Clients' report. You can read the full report or view the Against Malaria section. One of the reasons 100% of the money we receive buys mosquito nets is because many companies and individuals have agreed to help for free.
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On August 16th 2009 Peter Gostelow began a solo and unsupported expedition, by bicycle, from the UK to Cape Town. His target is to raise £1 for every kilometre cycled (roughly 25,000 in total!).
Peter is keeping a fantastic blog at http://www.thebigafricacycle.com/ detailing his journey with wonderful pictures and observations of the regions he is cycling through. Peter is currently in Portugal and as part of his journey he is raising awareness of malaria as he goes by doing some public speaking. This week he when to the American International School in Lisbon and had a great response.
You can sponsor Peter directly by visiting his page at Against Malaria: http://www.againstmalaria.com/petergostelow
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While malaria is a serious problem, fundraising events can be a lot of fun. A Fancy Dress Swim Against Malaria had participants making a splash in style as a part of the Santa Monica 4th of July celebrations this year. One of several Fancy Dress Swims organised by the group from Santa Monica, the well dressed swimmers have raised funds for over 600 bed nets this year. The unusual spectacle of sequins in the sea raises both funds and awareness, and looks like great fun too!
Next time you're thinking of having a party, maybe a Fancy Dress Against Malaria could be your theme. Though taking a dive into the ocean could be optional.
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It's exciting to see the creative ways that people approach fundraising. Dawn from Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada is quilting against malaria, as part of the United Nations Exhibit Quilt Challenge. When searching for an image for her quilt under the "Making a Healthier World for our Children" theme, Dawn was inspired by the happy smiling face of a Malawian girl receiving her bed net. An experienced quilter of more than 20 years, Dawn is sharing the making of her quilt on her Against Malaria sponsorship page. And if you'd like to see the completed quilts, they'll be on display in at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland this November, followed by a tour of the United States at various quilt shows. Or just click on Dawn’s page to see the most recent update on her "Quilt Against Malaria".
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On 8 September 2009, PwC UK Board members, their PAs and other carefully selected thrill-seekers/mad people will be taking the plunge for AMF in a sponsored abseil at their Embankment Place headquarters in central London.
This is just one of the many events that PwC have held in recent years in support of AMF and a group of 8 staff will be going out to Senegal in mid-August 2009 to work with local PwC Senegal staff and Peace Corps Volunteers on a distribution of some of the bednets bought with the $430,000 raised by PwC to date. If you're around Embankment on 8 September, come and see the guys in action.
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We have just added a great new video documenting a recent net distribution in Peru. The Peruvian Amazon basin is a high risk malaria area and more than half of the reported 64,000 malaria cases in Peru in 2007 occurred in this region. The villages were quite remote and reaching them involved boats and helicopters, as you will see in the video. Special thanks go to Patrick Kirk who edited this for us.
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We have had a very positive review from GiveWell, an independent charity evaluator. They have evaluated 500 charities and only recommend 6. We are one of them and we are chuffed at this recognition.
Full review
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Thank you for helping us reach 1 million nets which, once they are all delivered, will mean 2 million (mainly) children protected. We hope to achieve the next million nets even faster.
See the nets here
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Many groups approach us and ask if they can fundraise for nets using the www.againstmalaria.com platform to fund nets they will distribute themselves. The answer is Yes - provided the distribution proposed meets certain criteria. We have set up a system to make it easy and simple for an organisation to apply to us to fund a distribution of bednets - but also ensure that any bed nets we fund go to the right places and have guarantees concerning timing, delivery and transparency. This involves completing a distribution form which is sent to our Malaria Advisory Group - a panel made up of some of the world's leading malaria experts with extensive experience both in the strategies used to combat malaria and in the implementation of malaria programmes. More details on this process can be found here. If this Group approves the proposal you can then go ahead and you can use our on-line platform. The benefits this bring are: the ability to fundraise online at no cost; donors and supporters can leave encouraging messages when they donate; they can see at any time the total funds they have raised; we add their distribution to the website and link all donations to the distribution so donors really see where the nets they have funded are going; post-distribution, they see pictures and video footage of the distribution so they really, do see what they funded. Of course there is the additional benefit that 100 per cent of the money raised buys bed nets at the world's lowest cost, thereby maximising the number of nets you can get for you money.
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This is a link to an article just published on a great SurfAid initiative which we have also been helping. Check out the article and you can see here and here what our role has been.
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Last year, we organised a distribution of 240 bed nets to Sumbe in Cameroon. You can see the details and some pictures here.
Usually pictures or video together with the completion report from the distribution partner are all that we get to see. This is great because it is what we need to provide the transparency and proof of action that is fundamental to how we go about things. However, it is always nice to receive slightly more informal feedback about the impact on the lives of the people concerned. That is why we were very pleased to receive this from Gilbert B. Ayuk, a native of Sumbe but who now lives in the US and was reporting back following a visit to the village.
Dear Rob Mather,
On behalf of the people of Sumbe Village in the South West Province of
Cameroon, I wish to thank all of you at the Against Malaria Foundation and your principal partners for your donation of 240 nets to the people of our village. Your donation has led to a blanket covering of all sleeping spaces and has led to a dramatic fall in the incidence of malaria in a village that is located deep in the tropical forest ofAfrica.
The people of Sumbe village are appreciative of your coming to their assistance.
Gilbert B. Ayuk
(Sumbe native, resident in the US)
Thank you Gilbert.
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A year ago, Todd Lawson and Christina Tottle set off on motorbikes to travel the length of Africa both raising money for, and also distributing, bed nets. We helped organise the logistics for this and created with them the "Motos Against Malaria" initiative.
They have finally reached the end of their epic quest having travelled over 23,000 kilometres through 15 countries.
You can read all about their journey here and see some more wonderful images. If you want to support them, you can find their fundraising page here and here is where you can track the places in Uganda where they were able to distribute many of the bed nets their money funded.
Remember also, we can work with you to create your own fundraising initiative.
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Next Friday, the Boston Celtics are going to be honouring Jessica Kraft - the leader of the Beantown Skeeter Beater team which won the Madness Against Malaria competition two years in succession, raising over $17,500 which bought 3,500 bed nets.
Jessica will receive the “Heroes Among Us” award at the Celtics’ home match of Friday 13 March. This award was set up to recognise people who have made an overwhelming impact on the lives of others.
Madness Against Malaria is a challenge where teams compete against each other, over a series of rounds, to raise money to buy bed nets. Jessica’s team comprised people from the Rotract Club of the Boston University School of Public Health with the support of hundreds of people from across Boston and they won both the 2007 and 2008 competitions.
They are also entered in the 2009 competition, which is nearing the end of its qualification period before the time when teams competed directly against each other. You can watch their progress here. It is also not too late to enter your own team.
We hope to get some pictures from the event next week which we will post up here.
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One of our major promises is that we can guarantee that all of the money anyone raises with us will be spent buying bednets at the world's lowest price. We often get asked how we can make this promise. The answer is that our operating costs are very low and these are covered by some private donations, so we don't have to take a percentage off donations to cover administration. While we only have two people who effectively work full-time for the organisation we have many people and organisations who work with us - but they give their time and services for free. These include lawyers, accountants, printers, bankers, advertising agencies, film makers, professional translators, web technologists and graphic designers (a full list of people to thank is here).
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One of the questions we often get asked is why the focus on bednets and also the claim that you can link provision of bednets to lives saved.
It is true, bednets are not the only weapon available in the fight against malaria. Education is important as are initiatives to remove pools of stagnant water. Drugs also have a role as does (more controversially) spraying of insecticide. However, the evidence shows that providing long-lasing insecticidal bednets is probably the single most important and effective thing that can be done. The reason for this is as follows.
The malaria-carrying mosquitoes are typically the female Anopheles mosquito that bites between 10pm and 2am when seeking a blood-meal from a human. Hence nets work as they protect over the specific time when the relevant mosquitoes are biting. Of course someone could get up in the middle of the night and potentially be exposed but as you can imagine, protection while sleeping reduces hugely the chances of being bitten. Where possible, a 'blanket' coverage of all sleeping spaces in a village or community is carried out as this effectively wipes out -or close to it - a mosquito population as the mosquitoes are literally starved of a blood-meal, as well as the mass 'killing effect' insecticidal nets have when the mosquitoes land on them. Where it is not possible to achieve a complete coverage of all sleeping space, those most vulnerable, pregnant women and children under five years old, are given priority.
An example might help. In a recent distribution in Uganda, the clinic covering 9 villages reported 257 cases of malaria, and three deaths, in a one month period shortly before a net distribution. In the one month period, two months after the distribution, the number of cases of malaria was seven and no deaths. A fundamental, dramatic impact.
As already mentioned, malaria education is an important element in a bednet distribution which is why it is a condition of all of our distributions that they must have a malaria education component. This typically involves explaining how malaria is transmitted, proper use and care of the net, a bednet hanging demonstration and how to identify the signs of someone suffering from malaria. This helps people understand why sleeping under a net at night can protect from malaria-carrying mosquitoes. A simple play or 'skit', performed in front of the village, is often part of getting the message across. Adopting a light-hearted storytelling approach to explaining how nets protect people and kill mosquitoes is highly effective. It is explained that nets are for their use and, with comments from the village chiefs and community leaders about how these nets must be used properly, proper use of the nets is encouraged.
We also use the education component of bednet distribution to talk about the importance of removing areas of stagnant water, thus also addressing this issue.
Prevention is better than treatment but malaria can be treated if caught early and drugs are administered. Helping people recognise the signs of malaria, explaining that treatment is possible and encouraging them to take someone suspected of malaria to a clinic are all important education elements. However, drugs are not always available through lack of funds in a country and the very poor often have no money to pay for them.
The amount of money required to provide all the nets needed and all the drugs needed is large by your and my standards - about $3.5 billion per year each year for 10 years. We focus on the nets and education part because of the reasons explained above but also because it gives us something simple and tangible we can use to engage people in the fight against malaria. We have established a system that allows 100 percent of any money raised purchase nets as well as being able to show exactly where all the nets go. We think this is incredibly important in motivating people to join the fight, not just in terms of raising money but also in sending a message to governments. In national budget terms the sums required are small and over ten years would help save between 10-30 million lives, yet they are still not allocated. http://www.againstmalaria.com/Why.aspx
If we were to use the funds we raise for nets and drugs and all sorts of other things the message about defeating malaria would be a more complicated one to get across. As it is, we are able to focus on the simple message that 100 per cent of the money buys nets, they end up over heads and beds and we demonstrate that has happened. Other organisations focus on things such as drugs and the logistics of distributing them. This illustrates how many groups, with their own clear objectives, communicating well and acting as a large team, can defeat malaria.
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