About the Initiative
Refugee children are among the most marginalized and at-risk people in the world. Forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, or natural disasters, they often find themselves in overcrowded refugee camps or unfamilar enviornments with limited access to basic necessities, including healthcare. This puts them at risk of preventable diseases, malnutrition, and even death.
East Africa is one of the regions where forced displacement and related health crises require our urgent attention. Ongoing conflict throughout the region and the impact of natural disasters and climate change have displaced countless families, and are exacerbating health challenges and economic strain in host countries already struggling to meet refugee needs. Because of this year's cuts to humanitarian aid programs, refugee children in Africa are at a sharply higher risk of malaria right now. In Ethiopia, for example, living conditions for refugees in the Gambella region are rapidly deteriorating. Basic services - from general health care to food distribution to clean water and sanitation - are under severe strain. Malaria cases are increasing in refugee settlements due to delays in delivery of crucial malaria interventions like insecticide-treated bed nets and antimalarial medications.
The success of Healthy Start for Refugee Children, a special initiative of United to Beat Malaria and our sister campaign Shot@Life, is now even more critical. Together, we are stepping up with a comprehensive range of essential health services, including malaria prevention, treatment, and diagnosis services, childhood immunizations, and nutritional support to one million refugee and displaced children living in East Africa.
We believe that every child should have access to health services. Under this initiative, we will provide refugee children with the health services and related education they need. We will also strengthen country health care systems so they can better meet the needs of displaced children.
This holiday season, you can join our global community in giving refugee children a healthy start at life by making a donation or starting a fundraiser for Healthy Start for Refugee Children on Classy. Together, we will ensure refugee children receive the care and support they need to thrive.
About United to Beat Malaria
Nearly every minute, a child dies from malaria — a deadly, yet preventable disease. United to Beat Malaria, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation, is the world’s largest grassroots campaign fighting to end malaria, a preventable disease which claims the life of a child every minute. United to Beat Malaria brings together UN partners, advocates, celebrity champions, donors, and organizations to raise awareness, funds, and voices to protect vulnerable families from malaria.
Working together, over the past 19 years, we have protected more than 42 million people from malaria through the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets, antimalarial medications, rapid diagnostic tests, and beyond. Working together, we can be the generation to end malaria for good!
Meet Scovia Ackao
Scovia Ackao is a midwife in Uganda. Midwives, and community health workers like Scovia, are invaluable to malaria control and elimination efforts worldwide to help safeguard health. In the five years she has worked at the local health center, she has had an up-close, and absolutely heartbreaking, view of malaria’s cruel impact.
As a midwife, she knows too the terrible threat malaria poses to pregnant women, the increased likelihood of miscarriage, premature delivery, low birth weight, congenital infection, and perinatal death. “From May up to mid-August, we did not have nets,” she remembers. “That makes me feel bad as a midwife because the mother and child is at risk.”
With support from our Healthy Start program, midwives like Scovia and other community health workers are giving pregnant and lactating mothers information about malaria signs and symptoms.
They’re also implementing prevention and control measures at the community level, and identifying and preventing malnutrition in children and women, and helping mothers access treatment to safeguard their health and the health of their child.
Join our Healthy Start for Refugee Children Initiative Today
The best way to get started is by taking the first step yourself. Your generous gift will invest in the health care needs of over one million refugee children in East Africa through three core approaches:
- Helping local health care providers deliver essential medical care, vaccinations, and nutritional support to refugee children in camps and urban areas. This will include inpatient care, distribution of antimalarial medicines, malaria test kits and supplies, and vector control activities.
- Working with our on-the-ground partners to implement health education programs that give refugee children and their families the knowledge and skills to maintain good health practices, prevent diseases, and seek timely medical care when needed.
- Strengthening the capacity of local health care systems and organizations to better serve the health care needs of refugee children over the long term.
When you donate, you'll have the option to make the gift on someone you care about, whether they are near or far. You can even choose a special e-card to notify someone special that you made a donation in their honor.
Join our global community and invest in what matters most - health.
Start Your Own Fundraiser
Visit our Healthy Start for Refugee Children Classy page to create your own fundraiser. Click the Become a Fundraiser button. You can fundraise as an individual or as a team.
- Select As an Individual if you're fundraising on your own.
- Select Join a Team if you're fundraising with a team that has already been created on the United to Beat Malaria Healthy Start for Refugee Children Classy page. If you select this option, you'll be able to search by Team Captain or the Team name to find a team to join.
- Select Create a Team if you're fundraising across teams/departments within an organization or as a collaborative (multiple people and organizations) fundraising together.
Once you select the fundraiser type, you'll be asked to either create an account in Classy or sign in. If you have fundraised with Classy before, you can sign in with your credentials.
- If you are fundraising as an individual, you'll create your fundraising page by setting a fundraising goal, fundraising end date (MM/DD/YYYY), and personal headline.
- If you are fundraising through an already created team, you'll select the team you wish to join. After joining the team, you'll create your own fundraising page by setting a fundraising goal, fundraising end date (MM/DD/YYYY), and personal headline.
- If you are creating a new team, you will have to set up a team name, team fundraising goal, and page headline. After setting up the team, you will set up an individual fundraising page with your own personal fundraising goal, fundraising end date (MM/DD/YYYY), and a personal headline.
After creating the pages, you'll be able to customize your fundraising pages with pictures, stories and update about your progress. If you have any questions regarding setting up your fundraising page, please reach out to info@beatmalaria.org.
Setting Up Your Fundraising Event
Establish the type of fundraiser you would like to host. Here are some fundraising ideas:
- Host a community walk / 5k
- Organize a bake sale or community potluck party
- Host a paint and sip decorating party
- Host an e-sport or 3x3 basketball tournament
- Donate a special day like a birthday, wedding, or anniversary
After deciding on the type of event, here's your next steps to make sure that your event is successful.
- Learn the facts. Before you start planning your own virtual or in person fundraiser, learn more about United to Beat Malaria and key malaria stats and figures.
- Set a goal: It should be reasonable, yet ambitious. Setting a goal helps your audience rally around your cause and keeps them engaged as you work towards your fundraising goal.
- Make it Personal! Add pictures and videos to the page and tell your community why you support United to Beat Malaria and the Healthy Start for Refugee Children initiative. Let your supporters know why you are fundraising for United to Beat Malaria and why our mission to create a healthier, more equitable world for is important to you. Your supporters might not know anything about malaria or our campaign but they do know you. Here's some suggested language to get you started:
This holiday season, I joined the world's largest grassroots movement to end malaria. I'm #UnitedinHealth and joined United to Beat Malaria's Healthy Start for Refugee Children initiative because I believe that all children should have access to critical health services so that they can thrive. Help me reach my goal by donating to this page today!
- Identify your audience: Think about who you are going to reach out to and make an ask to. Your audience could include friends, family, neighbors, local businesses, local diaspora/community organizations, school groups, and/or faith groups.
- Network: Reach out to the audience you identified. You can call, send letters or emails, or use your social media platforms to make asks. You can also reach out to local media, like a local radio station, paper, or blog, who might be interested in your event. Check out our sample email and social media posts under Resources for language that you can use for outreach.
- Follow Up: Check in with your audience during and after your fundraising event to personally thank them for their support.
- Share! Share photos on social media and email us at info@beatmalaria.org. We would love to celebrate your fundraiser.
Note: United to beat malaria is unable to:
- Guarantee staff members or speakers will be in attendance at your event
- Provide funding for events
- Provide insurance or liability coverage for your event
- Apply for any licenses or permits on your behalf
- Accept material donations (i.e. nets, books, medicines, toiletries)
Healthy Start for Refugee Health Media Toolkit
You are welcome to use our photos and logos for your fundraising event, but we do have specific brand guidelines on how supporters can use our logos. We ask that you make it clear that your materials are not official United to Beat Malaria and Shot@Life materials. Should you have any questions about our policy, please send a note to info@beatmalaria.org with the name and date of the fundraising event, and the name of your organization to ensure materials are used in accordance with campaign guidelines.
Promoting Your Fundraiser: Email
Sharing your fundraising page via email is a great way to reach out to your audience. Here's a template email you can use to share information about Healthy Start for Refugee Children and your fundraiser.
Subject Line: Together, we can give Children a Healthy Start at life
Dear First Name,
This holiday season, I’m excited to announce my fundraiser for Healthy Start for Refugee Children, an initiative of the United Nations Foundation’s United to Beat Malaria and Shot@Life campaigns. In the midst of global conflicts and crises, the plight of refugee children often goes unnoticed. These children face immense challenges, including inadequate access to healthcare services, malnutrition, and exposure to infectious diseases. The need to safeguard their health and well-being is urgent and undeniable.
United to Beat Malaria and Shot@Life are racing to get urgently needed malaria and other health interventions to these refugee communities as fast as possible. But we can’t do it alone. Your generosity today will help us meet the health care needs of over one million refugee children in East Africa through three core approaches:
- Helping local health care providers deliver essential medical care, vaccinations, and nutritional support to refugee children in camps and urban areas. This will include inpatient care, distribution of antimalarial medicines, malaria test kits and supplies, and vector control activities.
- Working with our on-the-ground partners to implement health education programs that give refugee children and their families the knowledge and skills to maintain good health practices, prevent diseases, and seek timely medical care when needed.
- Strengthening the capacity of local health care systems and organizations to better serve the health care needs of refugee children over the long term.
Make a donation today at (insert fundraising page link). Your support can make a profound difference in the lives of refugee children. By contributing to our initiative, you are providing them with access to life-saving healthcare services, empowering them to overcome adversity, and giving them hope for a brighter future.
Best,
Your First Name
Promoting Your Fundraiser: Social Media
Sample Posts:
- This holiday season, I am proud to be #UnitedInHealth with @beatmalaria. Join me and give refugee children a healthy start at (insert personal fundraising link).
- Malaria is treatable and preventable, yet a child still dies every minute. Join me and United to Beat Malaria for a malaria-free future. Make a donation: (insert personal fundraising link).
- Refugee children are among the most marginalized and at-risk to vulnerable situations in the world. This puts them at risk of preventable diseases, like malaria, malnutrition, and even death. United to Beat Malaria is on a mission to give 1 million refugee children a #healthystart at life. Join me and make a donation at: (insert personal fundraising link).
United to Beat Malaria Profiles:
- Facebook: /UnitedtoBeatMalaria
- Instagram: @unitedtobeatmalaria
- Threads: @unitedtobeatmalaria
- LinkedIn: /unitedtobeatmalaria
- YouTube: @beatmalaria
- TikTok: @beatmalaria
- X (Twitter): @beatmalaria
Hashtags:
- #BeatMalaria
- #HealthyStart
You have the questions, we have the answers.
What does the money I raise go towards?
Donations support our initiative to give refugee children a healthy start at life. Healthy Start aims to ensure that at least one million more children in East Africa will have access to essential health services like childhood immunizations; malaria prevention, diagnosis, and treatment; nutrition screenings; and community outreach.
Can I donate stock and securities or by DAF?
Yes, you can donate securities, crypto, and by DAF via Every.org to United to Beat Malaria.
Next year, new tax provisions from the One, Big, Beautiful Bill go into effect. Many donors are choosing to give additional gifts in 2025 or bundle donations to Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) while tax savings are the highest. If you are 70 1/2 or older, you can make distributions up to $108,000.00 from a traditional IRA or Roth IRA to United to Beat Malaria. The distribution counts towards your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the current tax year and may help reduce your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Consult a lawyer or financial adviser to see if you qualify.
Will my donors get a tax acknowledgment receipt?
When donating online on Classy or EveryAction, a donation receipt is automatically created upon completion of a donation and sent to the email address used with the transaction. If a receipt needs to be resent, please reach out to info@beatmalaria.org.
If you donate via check, a donation receipt will be sent via mail. If you have a question about your donation, please reach out to info@beatmalaria.org.
Contact Us
Our team is happy to help! Contact United to Beat Malaria with your questions or suggestions. P: 202 - 370 - 8095 E: Info@beatmalaria.org
Mail offline donations to: United to Beat Malaria, 1750 Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 300, Washington DC 20006