Washington, D.C – On March 10, 2020, Nothing But Nets (NBN) Champions and members of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) USA from the States of New York and New Jersey headed to Capitol Hill to personally meet with their congressional representatives to discuss the fight against malaria. The United Nations Nothing But Nets campaign is made up of hundreds of thousands of supporters dedicated to fighting malaria.
Over half of the world’s population is at risk of contracting malaria, which is a mosquito-borne disease causing more than 400K deaths per year mainly among children. Unfortunately, one child still dies every two minutes from this preventable and treatable disease.
Alfred David led the opening discussion with Senator Booker and Congressman Malinowski. He explained why this advocacy is important to him and why it is not acceptable that children die of malaria before they even reach his young age of 7yrs old. His brother, Andrew David, spoke about the importance of preventing epidemics abroad, which protects Americans at home and saves millions of US taxpayer dollars. He noted that these diseases have no borders as recently proven by the coronavirus-19.
They were joined by JCI New York’s 2018 State President, Stevenson Van Derodar, JCI New Jersey’s 2019 State President, Maria Nucum and her two children Kaila and Sean Nucum. Kaila and Sean provided supporting information on the facts, figures, and impact of malaria.
In closing, Jazshua Andes and Jazon Andes, thanked the House of Representatives and Senate for their continued bipartisan support of programs like the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and asked for their continued support to save at least an additional 16 million lives and curb three epidemics.
Senator Cory Booker was very excited and proud to meet such young advocates. He recognized their great work as young leaders of NJ and confirmed his support of the Global Fund.
Congressman Tom Malinowski shared his travel experiences to South Africa and acknowledged the need of insecticide treated bednets for protection. He was inspired by these young leaders and also confirmed his support.
The US has a long history of investing in health and development abroad to create stability and security around the world. By funding these programs, we ensure better lives for generations to come with hopes that children of today will be the generation to eradicate malaria.
Learn more about at nothingbutnets.net.
(A press release and photos from JCI New Jersey)
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