Scouts Against Malaria

23 May 2026

How exactly can Scouts help prevent the spread of malaria?

Malaria is a life threatening disease, which has a very large impact in countries in sub Saharan Africa.  The number of people affected has not declined in recent years due to increasing immunity of mosquitos to currently used insecticides.  As these mosquitos are primarily active at night , the safest way to avoid infection is to sleep  is under an insecticide treated bed net (ITN).

So how can Scouts help?

Scouts Against Malaria is all about raising awareness among Scouts about malaria, and drive change through local action. It can be incorporated easily into your Global Issues activity badges and programmes, with plenty of activities on their website www.scoutsagainstmalaria.org.uk, suitable for Scouts of all ages from Beavers  through to Explorers.

If you are willing to help reduce the incidence of malaria, visit the website and learn about this illness by undertaking the activities and accepting the challenge of raising on average £5 per Scout, which is sufficient to purchase an ITN bed net. These funds will then be sent to African Scout Associations, primarily in Ghana, Uganda and Malawi, who will be able to buy these bed nets. Their Scouts will then be able to undertake education and distribution campaigns in their local communities in cooperation with the local health officials.

The most recent of these campaigns are described in our April newsletter (#35)  which has just been published on our website.