Haiti - Earthquake
 The immediate needs in Haiti are search and rescue teams and medical aid. Immediate support can be given via the DEC,the Red Cross, World Vision and others.
In the near to medium term malaria, already a problem in Haiti, is likely to increase significantly due to there being little to stop transmission. News media are quoting teams in Haiti as already concerned about a number of diseases including malaria. We would like to help. We have set up a specific donation page. 100% of funds donated here will buy nets for Haiti and we will liaise with the relevant authorities and partners to ensure they are distributed as soon as possible when they are needed, where they are needed. We are starting the fund with $25,000 as the need is likely to be very large. If you are able to help, thank you.
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The Big African Cycle
 Peter Gostelow, one of our Against Malaria heroes, is amazing us all by cycling from England to... Cape Town, South Africa, all in aid of AMF. He is making great progress in his cycling adventure and has covered 6,175 km of his 20,000 km challenge through 25 countries along the west African coast.
We are in awe of what Peter has taken on - saddle soreness, flat tyres and all! He keeps us regularly updated and entertained via his blog ( The Big African Cycle). His most recent post, aptly entitled 'The Wacky Contenders', describes how he started 2010 by meeting some interesting characters, while applying for his visa for Mauritiana in north west Africa.
"There was a sizeable crowd waiting outside the embassy at 8.30am on Monday morning. Considering recent news I expected to be the only western face who would be applying for a Mauritanian visa. Instead a colourful bunch of characters, mostly with their own vehicles, (equally colourful) had lined the road of this Rabat address..."
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New video of a distribution in Namulonge, Uganda
 We have just added a great new video documenting a recent net distribution in Uganda. 600 nets were distributed in the village of Namulonge, following on from a 400 net distribution in Nov 2008. You can also see photos of the distribution, supporting documents and a list of all the donors who funded the nets.
We'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you to our fantastic band of video and photo editors. If anyone would like to help out by selecting and captioning sets of photos, or editing videos (video experience required) you can find out more on our volunteers page.
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A great end to 2009
We are delighted to have ended 2009 by receiving a significant donation, CAN$125,000, from a private individual in Canada. Wow!
This donation will buy more than 25,000 long-lasting insecticidal nets. We are ecstatic at how many children and others this will protect. We have been told the donation was influenced by the great impact nets have per $ spent and the transparency of what we do, as reported recently by the GiveWell website.
Every donation, no matter how large or small matters because every net matters.
We hope to contribute even more towards reducing malaria in 2010.
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A milestone along the way: $5 million raised
 Thanks to you and others we have now passed $5 million raised! That's 1,169,735 nets (as I write) funded and distributed. 100% of the money we receive buys nets. Thanks for your support. It is hugely appreciated.
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The Big Africa Cycle Arrives on the Continent
 Peter Gostelow is now over 3 months into his epic cycle from the UK to Cape Town, South Africa. After many adventures cycling through Europe he has now reached Africa (via Spain - Morocco).
Peter's fundraising cycle has already raised enough to buy over 1,000 long-lasting insecticidal nets, protecting on average 2,000 children. You can read all about Peter's journey on his blog: http://www.thebigafricacycle.com as well as viewing some of the fantastic pictures he has taken along the way. You can support and encourage him via his fundraising page: http://www.AgainstMalaria.com/petergostelow
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Against Malaria singled out as the most effective charity for fighting malaria
It is great to see that another organisation has selected us as their recommended charity for giving to malaria. Giving What We Can is a relatively new charity, which encourages its members to give up to 10 per cent of their income to relieve suffering in the developing world. Its focus, beyond promoting this pledge, is to then provide advice on the best places for giving so that people can feel reassured that their money is being used most effectively. That is why we are especially pleased that, of malaria charities, they recommend Against Malaria.
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Nets Part Of Global Fund’s Brazil Malaria Effort
Against Malaria's mission to fight malaria by distributing nets was validated on Tuesday November 17 when the Global Fund announced they were committing EUR37 million over five years to treat and prevent malaria in Brazil. The Global Fund committing capital after learning that a reported 99% of malaria transmission in Brazil happens in the Amazon. While the project aims to both prevent and treat, it specifically mentions the planned distribution of insecticidal mosquito nets, actions Against Malaria have been taking for years. In addition to countless net distributions across Africa, Against Malaria has already distributed 2,000 nets in Peru thanks to a partnership with Amazon Promise, and 3,500 nets in Nicaragua, via a partnership with Project Concern International. Every individual can continue to help save lives by donating to Against Malaria, which has no administrative costs and puts 100% of donations toward net purchases.
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Citi showcase Against Malaria
 We are very grateful to Citi who have provided us with free global banking since we began. Citi have chosen to showcase our relationship in their latest 'Case Studies for Corporate and Public Sector Clients' report. You can read the full report or view the Against Malaria section.
One of the reasons 100% of the money we receive buys mosquito nets is because many companies and individuals have agreed to help for free.
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Cycling Through Africa
 On August 16th 2009 Peter Gostelow began a solo and unsupported expedition, by bicycle, from the UK to Cape Town. His target is to raise £1 for every kilometre cycled (roughly 25,000 in total!).
Peter is keeping a fantastic blog at http://www.thebigafricacycle.com/ detailing his journey with wonderful pictures and observations of the regions he is cycling through. Peter is currently in Portugal and as part of his journey he is raising awareness of malaria as he goes by doing some public speaking. This week he when to the American International School in Lisbon and had a great response. You can sponsor Peter directly by visiting his page at Against Malaria: http://www.againstmalaria.com/petergostelow
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Making a splash in style
 While malaria is a serious problem, fundraising events can be a lot of fun. A Fancy Dress Swim Against Malaria had participants making a splash in style as a part of the Santa Monica 4th of July celebrations this year. One of several Fancy Dress Swims organised by the group from Santa Monica, the well dressed swimmers have raised funds for over 600 bed nets this year. The unusual spectacle of sequins in the sea raises both funds and awareness, and looks like great fun too!
Next time you're thinking of having a party, maybe a Fancy Dress Against Malaria could be your theme. Though taking a dive into the ocean could be optional.
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Quilting Against Malaria
 It's exciting to see the creative ways that people approach fundraising. Dawn from Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada is quilting against malaria, as part of the United Nations Exhibit Quilt Challenge. When searching for an image for her quilt under the "Making a Healthier World for our Children" theme, Dawn was inspired by the happy smiling face of a Malawian girl receiving her bed net. An experienced quilter of more than 20 years, Dawn is sharing the making of her quilt on her Against Malaria sponsorship page. And if you'd like to see the completed quilts, they'll be on display in at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland this November, followed by a tour of the United States at various quilt shows. Or just click on Dawn’s page to see the most recent update on her "Quilt Against Malaria".
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PwC's Abseil of The Century
 On 8 September 2009, PwC UK Board members, their PAs and other carefully selected thrill-seekers/mad people will be taking the plunge for AMF in a sponsored abseil at their Embankment Place headquarters in central London.
This is just one of the many events that PwC have held in recent years in support of AMF and a group of 8 staff will be going out to Senegal in mid-August 2009 to work with local PwC Senegal staff and Peace Corps Volunteers on a distribution of some of the bednets bought with the $430,000 raised by PwC to date. If you're around Embankment on 8 September, come and see the guys in action.
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A great new distribution video
 We have just added a great new video documenting a recent net distribution in Peru. The Peruvian Amazon basin is a high risk malaria area and more than half of the reported 64,000 malaria cases in Peru in 2007 occurred in this region. The villages were quite remote and reaching them involved boats and helicopters, as you will see in the video. Special thanks go to Patrick Kirk who edited this for us.
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AMF one of only 6 out of 500 charities to be rated as 'Recommended'
We have had a very positive review from GiveWell, an independent charity evaluator. They have evaluated 500 charities and only recommend 6. We are one of them and we are chuffed at this recognition.
Full review
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1 MILLION nets reached
 Thank you for helping us reach 1 million nets which, once they are all delivered, will mean 2 million (mainly) children protected. We hope to achieve the next million nets even faster.
See the nets here
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Can we support your own distributions?
Many groups approach us and ask if they can fundraise for nets using the www.againstmalaria.com platform to fund nets they will distribute themselves. The answer is Yes - provided the distribution proposed meets certain criteria. 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 platform. 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.
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SurfAid reaches major milestone in malaria campaign
 This is a link to an article just published on a great SurfAid initiative which we have also been helping. Check out the article and you can see here and here what our role has been.
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It's nice to know we are making a difference
 Last year, we organised a distribution of 240 bed nets to Sumbe in Cameroon. You can see the details and some pictures here.
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 ofAfrica. 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.
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Motos Against Malaria - now back home
 A year ago, Todd Laswon and Christina Tottle set off on motorbikes to travel the length of Africa both raising money for, and also distributing, bed nets. We helped organise the logistics for this and created with them the "Motos Against Malaria" initiative.
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.
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