We’re joining Robert, Jean and Tzviatko in getting the word out about World Malaria Day today.  They’re raising money online for Malaria No More, a non-profit organization that works to eradicate Malaria in communities all over the world.  We think this is cool, and we think it’s really cool that they have decided to put some serious effort into online fundraising to make a difference for a cause they care about.

Eradicated in the US only 60 years ago, Malaria has been around for a long time and is a pervasive public health problem in many poor tropical regions, especially Africa.  It’s spread by mosquitoes and is surprisingly easy to cure and prevent.  So why is it such a big problem?

Even thought it’s relatively cheap to prevent Malaria deaths, it’s still too expensive for many people who contract the disease because they live far below the poverty line.  And in some places, people don’t have access to appropriate medical care or don’t know how the disease is spread.

Sometimes preventing Malaria is as simple as providing a $10 bed net to a family to keep the mosquitoes from biting.  Robert, Jean and Tzviatko have taken up the challenge to raise money for bed nets, education, and treatment with their fundraising pages.  After raising over $1000 in online donations in less than 12 hours (that’s a serious donor network, folks!), Robert raised his fundraising goal to $9001 and is already halfway there, just a week later.    Kudos!

You can find out more about the 2009 Malaria Day Campaign here.