Nothing But Nets: Seattle and Sounders Help Battle Malaria

Editor: Certainly a worthy cause and deserves front-page promotion.

Nothing But Nets, a program run by the United Nations that aims to end malaria deaths by 2015, is in town to promote awareness of its grassroots campaign.The concept behind the program is simple: a $10 donation provides an insecticide-treated bed net to a recipient in Africa. About a million deaths are attributed to malaria each year, out of 500 million infections. 500 million! Providing a net reduces the chance of contact with an infected mosquito, thus reducing the possibility of death. Yes, this is simplified, but I could write a thesis on malaria--so consider yourself spared.

Sounders FC winger Sanna Nyassi has been highly involved in the Nothing But Nets campaign, even earning April's "Humanitarian of the Month" award from MLS W.O.R.K.S.Nyassi, a native of Gambia, survived malaria not just once but twice. He's now devoted to spreading the word about simple solutions to preventing malaria deaths. He's spoken at various events and at local schools to try and raise awareness of both the disease and the simple solution provided by Nothing But Nets.

One area school that doesn't need to be educated about the campaign is The Bush School, a K-12 private school that has raised almost $10,000 for Nothing But Nets over the past three years. The main source of their fundraising? "The Mosquito Marathon", in which students walk, jog or run 13 or 26 miles over the course of a few weeks. Money pledged goes directly to the campaign.

Now Nothing but Nets has come to Seattle to help promote its cause. With the World Cup being held in Africa, the continent most affected by malaria (and the one least able to fight the disease due to persistent poverty) what better time to encourage soccer fans to unite to help stop one of the world's leading causes of death? Representatives of the program will be on hand at the match tomorrow, ready to answer questions and tell you more about their work, likely in a much more eloquent fashion than I. There will be prizes, giveaways, and, rumor has it, a giant mosquito that will be joining in the March to the Match. I hear that there will be brauts for just $2.

So Sounders fans, let's not let those impressive students from The Bush School show us up. With all the excitement building in South Africa--with all of us ready to watch the match at 7am tomorrow--let's not forget that there are millions on the continent who are suffering. It's easy to let the fun of soccer allow you to turn a blind eye to the problems of the world. But this is such a simple way to make a significant difference. Just take a few minutes tomorrow to learn more about what Nothing But Nets is doing, and if you think it's worthwhile, give them a few of your hard-earned dollars. I know I'd like to see the best football imaginable, in every World Cup. But if we can't conquer malaria, the African teams are going to remain at a disadvantage.