Congresswoman Barbara Lee Presents East Bay Student Award for Malaria Advocacy During the Golden State Warriors’ Nothing But Nets Night
Oakland – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) participated in the Golden State Warriors Nothing But Nets Night against the New York Knicks at Oracle Arena. For every event ticket purchased for this game, the Warriors will donate a life-saving insecticide-treated bed net to the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign.
Before the game, Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Nothing But Nets Director Chris Helfrich presented an award to Cooper Smith, a East Bay middle-schooler, who was inspired by Curry and for the second year in a row, donated his birthday money to the campaign, in lieu of gifts from family and friends.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a leading voice in the fight against global poverty, HIV/AIDS and diseases including malaria, and the Congressional Representative to the United Nations issued the following statement:
“I commend the Golden State Warriors and Nothing But Nets on their efforts to raise awareness and fight malaria,” said Congresswoman Lee. “It is truly heartbreaking that every 219 million people are infected with malaria per year, causing 600,000 deaths. By providing mosquito nets to vulnerable communities throughout Africa, the Golden State Warriors and Nothing But Nets are making tremendous strides in combating this preventable disease.”
Throughout the 2013-14 season, Curry and the Warriors are participating in the Three for Three Challenge, as both Curry and the team will each donate three life-saving bed nets to the Nothing But Nets campaign for each three pointer Curry makes this season. This past summer, Curry visited a refugee camp in Tanzania with the campaign to assist in distributing 38,000 bed nets to families in need.
Nothing But Nets is the largest global, grassroots campaign to fight malaria, a disease that kills a child every 60 seconds. Malaria, a disease caused by a single mosquito bite, is preventable. Since 2006,Nothing But Nets has raised more than $50 million, and together with its UN partners, has delivered 7.25 million insecticide-treated bed nets to protect families in sub-Saharan Africa from malaria.
Congresswoman Lee’s Global Health Efforts
Congresswoman Lee has been a leader in the fight against the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. She co-authored legislation signed into law creating the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria in 2000, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2003, the PEPFAR Reauthorization Act in 2008, PEPFAR Stewardship and Oversight Act of 2013 and in 2005 legislation addressing the needs of orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS. She has also been a leader in the effort to establish a National AIDS Strategy, and is a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, Human Services & Education with jurisdiction over all domestic HIV/AIDS funding. She is the only United States representative on United Nations Development Programme’s Global Commission on HIV and the Law and was the original sponsor of legislation that lead to the repeal of the Immigration and Travel ban that barred the entry of HIV positive individuals. The repeal allowed the International AIDS conference to take place in July 2012 in Washington, D.C., which was held in the U.S. after 20 years. Congresswoman Lee serves as a Representative from the United States to the 68th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. For more information visit www.lee.house.gov.
About Nothing But Nets
Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Inspired by sports columnist Rick Reilly, hundreds of thousands of people have joined the campaign that was created by the United Nations Foundation in 2006. Campaign partners include the National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, The people of The United Methodist Church, and Major League Soccer’s MLS W.O.R.K.S. It only costs $10 to provide an insecticide-treated bed net that can prevent this deadly disease. Visit www.NothingButNets.net to send a net and save a life.
About The United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by global corporations, foundations, governments, and individuals. For more information, visit www.unfoundation.org.