Malaria accounts for more than 40 per cent of all deaths among children under age five, yet less than 1 per cent of children sleep under insecticide-treated nets. One bite from a malaria-carrying mosquito can mean a life of pain, misery and even death for a child in Africa.
Studies show that use of insecticide-treated bed nets can reduce transmission as much as 90% in areas with high coverage rates. Bed nets prevent malaria transmission by creating a protective barrier against mosquitoes at night, when the vast majority of transmissions occur. The African malaria mosquitoes generally bite late at night or early morning, between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m.
A bed net is usually hung above the center of a bed or sleeping space so that it completely covers the sleeping person. A net treated with insecticide offers about twice the protection of an untreated net and can reduce the number of mosquitoes that enter the house and the overall number of mosquitoes in the area. This tends to repel or deter mosquitoes from biting or shorten the mosquito's life span so that it cannot transmit malaria infection to other members of a family.
For $10 - or less than the cost of a movie and a Happy Meal - you can help save and improve the life of a child who might one day become a doctor, an engineer, or a member of the clergy.
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