The United Nations Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign and Athletes For Hope are joining forces to connect professional, Olympic, and collegiate athletes and their fans to help save lives by preventing malaria, a leading cause of death among children globally.
The partnership aims to unify athletes and their fans, in every sport, to work together in fun, creative ways to raise awareness about the disease, which claims the life of a child every 60 seconds. In sub-Saharan Africa, it only costs $10 to deliver a life-saving bednet to protect families from malaria.
“Nets aren’t just used in sports – they are crucial to protecting families from malaria,” said Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry. “I’m excited that Athletes for Hope will introduce more athletes and sports fans to this important cause.”
Founded by Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Mia Hamm, Jeff Gordon, Alonzo Mourning, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee among others, Athletes for Hope brings athletes together to educate, inspire, and empower them to help make a difference in the world. Athletes for Hope members will be introduced to the Nothing But Nets campaign and have a number of opportunities to engage their fans and communities throughout the year to join the fight against malaria.
“Athletes for Hope is honored to join forces with Nothing But Nets to fight malaria,” said Ivan Blumberg, Chief Executive Officer of Athletes for Hope. “This engagement is the first global cause that our over 2,000 athlete members will have the opportunity to address.”
Malaria is a deadly disease, transmitted by a single mosquito bite. Malaria kills more than 600,000 people worldwide every year. But nets provide a simple, cost-effective solution that can stop the spread of malaria and save lives.
“The global community has already cut child deaths from malaria in half over the last decade,” said Nothing But Nets Director, Christopher Helfrich. “We are making tremendous progress and partners like Athletes for Hope are going to help us defeat malaria in this generation.”
Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to raise awareness, funds, and voices to fight malaria. Since 2006, hundreds of thousands of sports fans and campaign supporters have joined the campaign to send nets and save lives. Together with its UN partners, the Nothing But Nets campaign has helped deliver more than 9 million nets to families in 29 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. To learn more, visit www.NothingButNets.net.
