Malaria in Latin America & The Caribbean

You may have heard that malaria is in Sub-Saharan Africa. And it’s true that the majority of cases occur there. But malaria still remains in the Americas, too, especially in rural, hard-to-reach areas where access to health care can be limited.

So in 2017, we expanded our mission to eliminate the disease in Latin America and the Caribbean. Although cases have been on the decline since 2000, about 132 million people in the Americas are considered to be at high risk of malaria.

On this side of the globe, malaria is most rampant among pregnant women, displaced peoples, young men working in mines, and farm workers in the Amazon region. 

Last year marked a historic milestone: Paraguay was certified as malaria-free, the first country in the Americas to be certified since the 1960s, and other countries — like Ecuador — are close behind. We continue to work in Latin American countries as well as Haiti, where malaria contributes to low economic growth and poverty. By connecting private sector companies, NGOs, and local governments, we will be able to continue progress and end malaria for good!

Here are some of the countries in the Americas that Nothing But Nets has helped:

Ecuador – A total of 50,000 bed nets were sent, the majority of which were sent to four high-burden areas: Esmeraldas, Orellana, Morona Santiago, and Pastaza.

Haiti – In addition to distributing 15,000 nets in Haiti, we also work heavily with community healthcare workers in the region to help them effectively diagnose and treat malaria. 

Venezuela – We teamed up with our UN partners to provide 150,000 bed nets to Venezuela, a country in desperate need of protection from malaria. 

Guyana – Together with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Nothing But Nets has provided 11,250 nets to Guyana.

Dominican Republic – 80,000 bed nets have been distributed in the Dominican Republic. NBA Cares Ambassador and Nothing But Nets champion Felipe Lopez joined us on a trip to his home country and saw our work in action.

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