YCA Hits the Hill! Nothing But Nets Leadership Summit: Day Three

Yesterday was the last day of the Nothing But Nets Leadership Summit (which conveniently fell on World Malaria Day!) We went to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress and their staffers to emphasize the importance of protecting international aid funding. We also advocated for continued support of the President’s Malaria Initiative and the Global Fund.

Many of us took this opportunity to explain to our elected officials why malaria is an issue that particularly affects young people. Children under the age of five and pregnant women are some of the populations most vulnerable to contracting malaria, and a child dies every two minutes from this deadly disease. Working to eradicate malaria in developing nations will yield beneficial long-term returns, which will benefit American youth tremendously. Promoting international stability will allow greater productivity and economic expansion in regions currently at high risk for malaria, which will only help the next generation of Americans by opening up more opportunities for trade partnerships and reducing the need for military intervention overseas.

We also met some amazing political figures!

The YCA team had a fantastic experience in DC for the 2017 Nothing But Nets Leadership Summit. Thank you to Nothing But Nets and the United Nations Foundation for hosting us—your tireless work in fighting malaria is inspiring.

Stay tuned for interviews with some of the advocates we met on our trip!

Written by Kate Canavan of the Youth Caucus of America