NEW YORK– Ahead of the seventh replenishment conference Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria hosted by President Biden next week, the ONE Campaign is putting on a first-of-its-kind audio installation on the streets of New York using the only thing more annoying than a mosquito’s bite – its buzz.

On Friday, September 16, ONE will swarm busy areas of Manhattan, creating a literal buzz to raise awareness for the Global Fund and its work to end malaria. ONE supporters will be geared up with the first-ever ultrasonic mosquito speakers creating a surround sound of a swarm of mosquitoes as passersby walk through the streets. As they walk through, confused and concerned, the ONE team will help make the connection between the sound of the ‘world’s deadliest animal’ and the ongoing fight to end malaria.

While the sound of a mosquito buzzing is unnerving and unsettling, for many around the world, it’s life-threatening. Despite our incredible progress against malaria, a child dies of malaria every minute. In 2020, there were estimated 241 million malaria cases, and 627,000 deaths globally.

Media interested in covering the stunt or reaction footage should contact Sarah Massey ([email protected]) for precise times and locations.

For media interested in covering the Global Fund Replenishment Conference, experts from ONE are available to speak about how the US and its partners must work to get the fight against preventable disease back on track. Contact Sarah Massey to speak to an expert.

Background: 

The Global Fund supports efforts to defeat HIV, tuberculosis and malaria around the world. In the past twenty years, its work has helped save 50 million lives. The conference comes at a critical time in the fight against AIDS, TB, and malaria, which incurred worrying setbacks as a result of disruptions to global health services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Take the impact of the pandemic on just one of these killers: There were an estimated 241 million malaria cases in 2020; an increase of 14 million cases compared to 2019.

• According to its new report, the Global Fund has helped save 50 million lives since 2002. Of those, the US has helped save 16 million.
• New Yorkers alone have helped the Global Fund:
  • Save 1,299,161 lives since 2002
  • Put 662,887 people on Antiretroviral drugs in 2021
  • Treat 149,920 people for tuberculosis in 2021
  • Distribute 3,786,820 mosquito nets in 2021