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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 platfrom.  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.

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 of Africa.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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 $3.5billion 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 per cent 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.

Here is a link to some more information – as well as a link to the movie’s site, Malaria.com and the fundrasing page we have set up.