Against Malaria Foundation Blog

Provisional allocation of 3.54 million nets

blog.nospam@nospam.againstmalaria.com (RobMather) — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:27:00 +0100

We have provisionally allocated a number of donations to two potential distributions, one in Senegal (440,000 LLINs) and one in Sierra Leone (3.1 million LLINs).

We are far advanced with discussions with the respective National Malaria Control Programmes (NMCPs) and other in-country partners and, in such circumstances, it is appropriate to allocate donations so it is clear which funds would be used to purchase the nets. If all proceeds positively, we would expect to approve purchase of the nets in the coming weeks and add details and documentation to the distribution pages.

In Senegal, we have had very productive discussions to date with the Programme National de Lutte contre le Paludisme (PNLP) who share our approach of conducting data-driven, verification-led distributions. All elements we consider important in carrying out a distribution have been agreed. We are now discussing implementation details. The net gap required for achieving universal coverage in four districts in Southern Senegal is some 660,000 nets. As additional funds are received it is possible we will fund further nets.

In Sierra Leone, 3.4 million nets are needed for a country-wide campaign to replace nets distributed in 2010 so the population remains protected. AMF has offered to fund 3.1 million nets after detailed discussions with the NMCP and other partners. The NMCP has indicated a strong commitment to transparency and data in conducting the distribution. A final round of discussions with partners will take place in-county in the next two weeks.

Peter Singer: Effective Altruism

blog.nospam@nospam.againstmalaria.com (General) — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:11:00 +0100

Peter Singer talks about effective altruism and donating to Against Malaria in his latest TED talk.

Progress made with discussions in Senegal

blog.nospam@nospam.againstmalaria.com (General) — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:14:00 +0100

A significant distribution in Senegal is a step closer with very good recent progress in discussions with the Senegal National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) who share AMF's data-driven and verification-based methodology for net distributions.

See our list of Future Distributions.

An update on distributions being assessed

blog.nospam@nospam.againstmalaria.com (General) — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:05:00 +0100

More progress has been made in assessing a number of future distributions with several nearing full approval status.

You can view the current status of each distribution with visual and summary updates on our future distributions page.

Twelve month post-distribution survey in Malawi under way

blog.nospam@nospam.againstmalaria.com (General) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:17:00 +0100

Continued use of nets is very important and every six months a post-distribution survey is carried out to assess net usage and net condition. The data collected are used to determine if additional community-level malaria education activities are required. All data are published.

The six months post-distribution survey for Ntcheu, Malawi, of 7,657 households and 15,768 nets showed a hang-up (usage) level of 90% and the percentage of nets in a very good condition of 99% (ninety nine).

The twelve months survey is now under way and the results are being entered as the survey forms come in. You can see the data, which is being updated in real time, on the summary page. The data will then be checked before being added to the main Ntcheu distribution page.

Disappointing results from malaria vaccine trial

blog.nospam@nospam.againstmalaria.com (General) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:40:00 +0100

Everyone involved in malaria control has a fervent wish a malaria vaccine is found.

Recent results from an ongoing trial are therefore disappointing.

The trial’s report concludes: ‘The efficacy of RTS,S/AS01E vaccine over the 4-year period was 16.8%. Efficacy declined over time and with increasing malaria exposure.’

Reuters reports: ‘The disappointing results for RTS,S - the world's first potential malaria vaccine - raise further questions about whether it can make a difference in the fight against the disease, a major cause of illness and death among children in sub-Saharan Africa. "The results are kind of disappointing because we'd all like to see a malaria vaccine that has closer to 80 percent or 100 percent efficacy," said Christopher Plowe, a malaria researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the United States, who was not involved in the RTS,S trial. There is currently no vaccine that offers complete protection against malaria. Control measures such as insecticide-treated bednets, indoor spraying and anti-malaria drugs have helped cut malaria cases and deaths significantly in recent years, but drug resistance is growing and experts say an effective vaccine could be a vital tool in eradicating the disease.’

Full trial report: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1207564#t=abstract

Reuters article: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/us-malaria-vaccine-gsk-idUKBRE92J1B620130320

Triple milestone!

blog.nospam@nospam.againstmalaria.com (RobMather) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:13:00 +0100

We have just passed $17m raised, 4 million nets funded and our 60,000th donation!

Thank you for your support which has helped protect many people from malaria.

The next two milestones we hope to reach are:

500,000 people participating/ed in fundraising initiatives - currently we are at 476,028. If you could organise a fundraising activity - be it just you, or a group of friends or some people at work - please do! An opportunity to have fun too.
Increasing our base of recurring donations from $40,000 per month to $80,000 a month, so we can approach $1m per year. Recurring donations help us plan and 100% buys nets and we include more information here.

We have recently updated progress with future distributions.

Thank you again,

Rob

Future distributions - updated

blog.nospam@nospam.againstmalaria.com (General) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:36:00 +0100

We have recently made significant progress in assessing a number of future distributions.

You can view the current status of each distribution with visual and summary updates on our future distributions page.

Non-net costs

blog.nospam@nospam.againstmalaria.com (General) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:50:00 +0100

For the first time AMF is funding non-nets costs for a distribution i.e. costs beyond those of just the nets themselves. It is not expected this will become the norm or indeed be repeated. The funding for non-net costs will NOT come from public donations to AMF. Our promise that '100% of the funds you donate will buy nets' still stands. They will instead be covered by donor/s who have arranged with us to donate for this specific purpose. We explain here why we are doing this.

Details of recently approved distributions

blog.nospam@nospam.againstmalaria.com (General) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:29:00 +0100

We have approved a distribution of 235,000 LLINs to the two districts of Balaka and Dedza in Malawi. Both districts are badly affected by malaria. These nets will be distributed form March to July 2013 and will achieve universal coverage - coverage of all sleeping spaces - across both districts. Each net protects close to two people. Our distribution partner for this distribution is Concern Universal.

You can view the details of the Balaka and Dedza distributions on our website.