The Millennium Development Goals Task Force at the University of Notre Damehas raised more than $9,000 from students, faculty and staff members to purchase bed nets that will protect 900 people inAfricafrom malaria and other mosquito-borne illnesses.
Led by four sophomores, the task force includes more than 100 students who are working to take action in response to last falls Notre Dame Forum on global health.
In collaboration with the sophomore class council and Progressive Student Alliance, and with support from the Center for Social Concerns, the groups first major campus action was the Malaria Bed Net Campaign. Insecticide-treated bed nets protect families from malaria, which is the leading cause of death inAfricaof children under the age of 5. An average of one child dies from malaria every 30 seconds on the continent.
All funds raised will be contributed directly to the Malaria No More organization, which will distribute the nets and teach recipients how to use them. At a cost of $10 each, the simple net effectively protects people from the mosquitoes that transmit malaria.
Malaria No More is a non-profit organization founded to work with non-governmental organizations, such as the Millennium Promise Alliance and the U.N. Foundation, to support a multi-faceted approach to combating malaria. It is a featured partner of the President’s Malaria Initiative. Ray Chambers, a member of the Notre Dame Board of Trustees and donor of the initial grant to fund theNotre DameMillenniumDevelopmentVillage, is the chair of the Malaria No More board.
The White House Summit on Malaria, held Thursday (Dec. 14), featured the work of Malaria No More. Additional information is at http://www.malarianomore.org/ .
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