Networkers Malaria Prevention Program

The NetWorkers Malaria Prevention Program was developed by International Health and Development in response to the tragic human toll of malaria, which claims over a million lives each year. Malaria is the leading cause of death among children under 5 in Africa and a major health threat to pregnant women.

The economic toll of malaria is also staggering. Repeated bouts of malaria rob families of the ability to work while also diverting scarce income to pay for treatment, thus repeating a cycle of poverty and illness.

Fortunately, because malaria is a disease caused by parasites borne by night-biting mosquitoes, infection can be significantly reduced simply by sleeping under an insecticide-treated mosquito net. Nets are effective, inexpensive and easy to use. The NetWorkers program provides nets and malaria prevention education at project sites Africa and Asia.

NetWorkers projects are community-based, implemented by the women of our PC(USA) partner churches overseas. At each project site, NetWorkers committees use Christ-centered educational materials to teach their neighbors how to prevent malaria, and they make nets available at locally affordable prices. The word of God’s love and care is delivered by NetWorkers, along with the life-saving malaria prevention lessons.

Two expectant mothers in Malawi learn about using a mosquito net to protect themselves from malaria. Photo by Dr. Dorothy Brewster-Lee.

Led by the Presbyterian Women's groups, congregations in the United States support the NetWorkers Program by helping to purchase nets, insecticide and educational materials. Young people in our congregations can help provide nets for children by participating in the "Nickels for Nets" mission activity.

The NetWorkers Malaria Prevention Program is supported through PC(USA)’s “Healthy Women Healthy Families” account (E048013) and by the annual Healthy Women Healthy Families Mother’s Day Project.

Children help children through nickels for nets

When children set their minds to helping others they can inspire us all, as two stories of gifts to the Nickels for Nets project illustrated recently.

Mission Camp at First Presbyterian Church, Marietta, Ga., was a lot of fun judging by the happy faces of these young participants. Photo courtesy of First Presbyterian Church, Marietta, Ga.

In Georgia, a children’s mission effort proved to be a big success in a big hurry. When elementary-age youngsters at First Presbyterian Church in Marietta learned about malaria at Summer Mission Camp they set an ambitious goal for themselves: to raise enough money to purchase 200 mosquito nets for children in Africa through the Nickels for Nets project. That many mosquito nets would cost approximately $2,000, and Summer Mission Camp was only four days long. [Read more]

Children Can Be NetWorkers Too

Malaria is the leading cause of death among young children in Africa. Photo by Frank Dimmock.

Malaria kills a child every 30 seconds, making it the most common cause of death among children in Africa and the second leading cause of death among children in Asia. This year alone, 700,000 children, most under age 5, will die from malaria. Millions of other children fall behind in their education, as an average of six malaria bouts each year makes them miss school repeatedly.

These children can be protected from malaria by sleeping under a mosquito net. And children in the United States can help provide those nets. Resources to teach children about malaria and engage them in the NetWorkers project are available for download.

Children in your congregation can make a "Nickels For Nets" bank and save coins to provide a net for a child in Africa. The Nickels for Nets bank wrapper can be downloaded and printed for easy use. A color handout, "Mosquito Nets for Kids," that will help young people learn about malaria and how they can help other children, can also be downloaded, along with a children's sermon.

Every 10 dollars collected provides a mosquito net and malaria prevention education for a family in sub-Saharan Africa.

Contact Gail Bingham for more information at (888) 728-7228, x5573 or by email.

Download Nickels for Nets Resources

• Mosquito nets for kids
• Nickels for nets bank label
• Children's sermon

Donate to the Malaria Prevention Program

- Files marked with this icon can be downloaded in printable Adobe Acrobat format. This file requires the free Acrobat Reader. For best results, right-click the link (or click and hold for Macintosh), select " save target as" and save the document to your desktop for viewing and printing.