Spread The Net
Throughout Africa, the threat of malaria is ever-present. It claims the life of 3,000 African children each day. That's one every 30 seconds. However there is hope and a global growing movement to fight this disease. Sleeping under a simple, $10 long-lasting, insecticide-treated bed net is the most cost-effective and efficient way to prevent the spread of malaria. Founded in November 2006 by Belinda and Rick Mercer, the Spread the Net campaign powered in partnership with UNICEF Canada, has achieved what it first set out to do: raise enough funds to deliver 500,000 anti-malarial bed nets!

In just a few short years, Spread the Net has turned into an amazing success story thanks to the generosity of Canadians from coast-to-coast and to our Ambassadors, a group of well-known Canadians who have all lent their support to the campaign. Thousands of individuals, schools, communities, teams and corporations have joined the malaria fight donating $5 million to date or enough for 500,000 nets. When you consider that often up to five children or entire families sleep under one net, that translates into millions of lives saved.

Students and youth have played a particularly important role in the campaign and have, over the past three school years, via the Spread the Net Student Challenge, raised close to $1 million or enough for 100,000 nets.

The Spread the Net campaign is designed to motivate, educate and inspire Canadians to raise awareness and funds for the purchase and distribution of long-lasting, insecticide-treated bed nets for children in Africa.

Great progress has been made but more nets are needed if we are going to reverse malaria incidence and ultimately deaths as the United Nations Millennium Development Goals have called upon us to do. So join Spread the Net in the fight against malaria!