UN Foundation to Distribute Anti-Malarial Bed Nets to African Refugees
UN Foundation to Distribute Anti-Malarial Bed Nets to African Refugees
The United Nations Foundation has announced that it will partner with the UN Refugee Agency to send 346,000 bed nets to refugees living in temporary camps in eleven African countries as part of the foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign.
Malaria is the leading killer of refugees in Africa, and a single insecticide-treated bed net can protect a family of four from the disease. It costs $10 to purchase and deliver a net and educate the recipient on its proper use. To date, the campaign has delivered more than 275,000 nets to twenty-seven camps in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Sudan.
According to Nothing But Nets executive director Elizabeth Gore, the campaign recently provided a bed net to every refugee in need in Kenya, where malaria now accounts for 10 percent of all deaths — down from 33 percent three years ago. Despite the measurable impact, she added, more work needs to be done.
"Thanks to the incredible work of our partners and supporters, we've already been able to protect more than 600,000 refugees from malaria in eastern Africa," said Gore. "Now we'll be able to help protect over a million of the world's most vulnerable people."
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