By Tim Saunders on
Mandy Moore is calling on Christmas donations for anti-malaria nets in the Central African Republic.
“It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is coming up so soon,” she writes in The Huffington Post. "It’s my favorite time of year; when I can stop, put work on hold and celebrate the important people in my life. As usual, I have plenty of gifts to buy for close friends and family. But this year I’m rethinking my holiday shopping list.
“I recently traveled to the Central African Republic. Many people have never heard of CAR. I didn’t know much about it either. It’s a little smaller than Texas, with a population of about 5 million people. Just to put that in perspective — more than 20 million people live in Texas.
“I was in CAR to help distribute insecticide-treated mosquito nets with the United Nations Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign and the global health organization PSI. Malaria is the leading killer of children under the age of five in the Central African Republic and is responsible for about half of all hospital visits.
“The United Nations identified an urgent need for mosquito nets in CAR, due to its vulnerability to flooding, location, proximity to conflict-ridden countries, like Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the fact that malaria is an issue pretty much year round.
“Ten dollars may not sound like much, but the cost is too high for most people at risk of getting malaria, many of whom live on less than $1 a day. That $10 goes to Nothing But Nets to purchase a net, deliver it to a family, and educate communities on its importance and use. I’m trying to help them get a net to every family in the country by the end of the year — and you can help, too. We’re already more than half-way there.
“As I said, the holidays are right around the corner. Join me in taking a minute, going to www.NothingButNets.net and donating $10 to send a net to the Central African Republic. You will be saving a life.”
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