Press Trust of India / New York Apr 24, 2009, 12:17 IST
On the eve of World Malaria Day, UNICEF today announced that it will be the recipient of a $100,000 gift designated for the provision of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) meant to stem the spread of malaria.
The gift comes as the result of a highly publicised challenge between actor Ashton Kutcher and the Cable News Network, and played itself out on the increasingly popular social networking website 'Twitter'.
"It is estimated that if every child in Africa slept under an insecticide-treated net, some 70 per cent of malaria deaths could be avoided," Executive Director of UNICEF Ann M Veneman said in a statement.
"These new donations will help deliver-insecticide treated nets to children at risk from this deadly disease, and will save lives," Veneman said.
A vocal advocate for the eradication of malaria, Kutcher issued a challenge to CNN several weeks ago saying that his account would set a new record on Twitter, attracting one million followers before the Twitter account held by CNN's breaking-news feed.
The wager was $100,000 and last Friday, Kutcher, whose Twitter name is @aplusk, reached that one million mark.
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The campaign to provide bed nets is tantamount to telling families in Africa to stay in bed. Take a few minutes to watch this video by WORLDwrite volunteers
http://www.worldbytes.org/programmes/006/006_002.html
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