Chris Duff, junior in LAS, is a finalist in the “World Briefing: Telling the Malaria Story” contest, co-sponsored by Malaria No More, a non-profit organization trying to eradicate malaria worldwide.

“What I really got out of it was that it's not that difficult to get involved in these opportunities. It's worth trying this out. I think that's what I really would like people to know is that 'hey I can do it, you can to,'” Duff said.

Malaria, a disease transmitted from person to person by mosquitoes, causes one million deaths per year, according to the official website of Malaria No More or MNM. The mosquito-transmitted disease kills an African child every 30 seconds, more than 3,000 children every day, and is responsible for 90 percent of the deaths in Africa alone.

“Malaria No More is determined to end malaria deaths in Africa by 2015. Every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria, but a simple mosquito net can save a life,” said Emily Bergantino, the communications manager at MNM, in an email.

Even though malaria has long been extinguished within the United States, it is still a relevant problem for impoverished countries. According to the MNM website, 40 percent of the world's population is still at risk for contracting this disease.

It's completely preventable, but the problem is we don't have all the resources,” Duff said. “The two main ways that you can stop malaria are really from nets and anti-malarial medication, but the World Bank actually ran a study in Cameroon, Uganda, Tanzania, and Guinea. Approximately 30-70 percent of all the drugs being distributed by the government ended up on the black market.”

Lots of college campuses are initiating a program called ONE, which runs through Malaria No More, to raise awareness of malaria prevention and to fundraise for nets. The five dollar nets could honestly save a child's life, added Duff.

“Mosquito nets are number one. I would assume to help people in malarious areas getting mosquito nets would be one of the ways that I think could help them,” said Heidi Tucker, senior in LAS.

MNM is reaching out to the community through emails, facebook messages, regular tweets, blogs, and by working directly with churches, schools, and groups to raise awareness and funds to fight malaria, Bergantino said.

“This contest was an opportunity to capture the attention of an engaged group of students. This generation of college students is more globally-aware than any before it. With so many new channels of communication available, they are incredibly well-positioned to not only know the story of malaria - but to actually help tell it,” Bergantino added.

The main point of Duff's essay was to begin with education. He stressed the issue of properly educating the people to help prevent the spread of malaria.

“The problem is with education, as I've noticed down in Honduras, is that foreigners are not necessarily very trusted. What I focused my essay on was to teach leaders and the teachers in these African countries about all these proper steps to eliminate malaria and then they branch out and teach the rest of their countrymen because the trust will be magnified,” Duff said.

MNM and ONE's website illustrates the same point that the problem of malaria also causes economic devastation within these countries. There is a $12 billion estimated economic loss in Africa because of Malaria, along with the record number of deaths.

“I believe that even if people are slightly more informed about malaria, it's a success on my end,” Duff said. We need to take small steps to accomplish these big goals.”