Spread the Net

What is Spread the Net?

Spread the Net was born when Belinda Stronach and Rick Mercer traveled to Africa in 2006 with Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the UN Millennium Project and The Earth Institute at Columbia University. It was there that they saw first hand the devastating effects of Malaria, and the shockingly simple bed net solution so out-of-reach for many thousands of African families.

From that moment on, Belinda Stronach and Rick Mercer stepped up to the plate and, as national Spread the Net co-chairs, spearheaded this amazing cause in partnership with UNICEF Canada. Initiated to raise awareness and help wipe out death by Malaria, the goal is to raise $5 million in three years for UNICEF to purchase and distribute 500,000 insecticide-treated bed nets at no cost to families in Liberia and Rwanda and educate recipients on their usage. Every $10 collected will purchase a bed net for a child in Africa — a simple, effective, inexpensive way to make a BIG difference — saving lives, one net at a time.

UNICEF is a global leader in Malaria prevention among children, working in almost every Malaria endemic country of the world. The organization is the largest purchaser of mosquito bed nets in the world and supported the development and production of long-lasting net treatment technologies, which have presented a new breakthrough in Malaria prevention.