"Nothing But Nets" Helps U.N. Prevent Malaria in Africa

"Nothing But Nets" Helps U.N. Prevent Malaria in Africa

April 20, 2008
When we speak of positive uses of game tech, it doesn't get much better than Nothing But Nets, an online game offered by the United Nations in order to highlight the need for mosquito netting in Africa.

After all, World Malaria Day is April 25th.

In Nothing But Nets the player steers a motorcycle and delivers mosquito bed netting to needy villagers. As games go, it's not state of the art, but it does drive home the need to combat mosquito-borne illnesses with proper netting.

There are also opportunities for the player to sign up as a donor or a fundraiser, but these are not required to play.

Via: Kotaku
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Comments

Submitted by StealthKnight - April 20, 2008 at 4:03 pm -0500
Sounds like a potentially fun game. I wonder if the riding aspect is like the African Trail. An old PC game that a bike riding aspect to it.
Submitted by GRIZZAM 512 - April 20, 2008 at 3:56 pm -0500
That's nice.
Submitted by “Nothing But Nets” Helps U.N. Prevent Malaria in Africa - April 20, 2008 at 3:58 pm -0500
[...] wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptWhen we speak of positive uses of game tech, it doesn’t get much better than Nothing But Nets, an online game offered by the United Nations in order to highlight the need for mosquito netting in Africa. After all, World Malaria Day is April 25th. In Nothing But Nets the player steers a motorcycle and delivers mosquito bed netting to needy villagers. As games go, it’s not state of the art, but it does drive home the need to combat mosquito-borne illnesses with proper netting. There are also opportunities for the player to sign up as a donor or a fundraiser, but these are not required to play. Via: Kotaku [...]
Submitted by Cheater87 - April 20, 2008 at 4:27 pm -0500
I beat it and sent a net. :)
Submitted by Kerotan - April 20, 2008 at 4:42 pm -0500
Like the free rice game, this is an awesome idea.
Submitted by GRIZZAM 512 - April 20, 2008 at 5:25 pm -0500
Heh. And they say video games decrease pro-social behavior...
Submitted by Jonathan, aka Soul - April 20, 2008 at 6:48 pm -0500
@Kerotan: Indeed it is :) .
Submitted by the conspiracy - April 20, 2008 at 7:52 pm -0500
Whats up with that one link? The one that just summarizes the article.
Submitted by NeW SpEcTrUM - April 20, 2008 at 7:54 pm -0500
Good to see this getting notice, my town recently did ran a fundraiser at one of our lacrosse games. (Got filmed on MSG.) To my knowledge we raised about $7,000!
Submitted by GRIZZAM 512 - April 20, 2008 at 7:56 pm -0500
@NeW SpEcTrUM

Congradulations.
Submitted by Grizz - April 20, 2008 at 8:51 pm -0500
I wanna know who comes up with some of these "world days" and also chooses their dates. Not 2 weeks ago it was "National Compliment Day" here in Australia; and now I find out that "World Malaria Day" is also on the same day as "ANZAC Day", where we commemorate those ANZACS lost during wartime.

WILL SOMEONE STOP THE MADNESS!?
Submitted by U.N. Contributes to African Efforts on GBN: Gaming Blog Netw - April 20, 2008 at 8:58 pm -0500
[...] Turns out, I do. As reported by Gamepolitics and Kotaku, the UN is offering an online game called ‘Nothing But Nets’ to highlight the importance of mosquito netting in Africa. [...]
Submitted by GRIZZAM 512 - April 20, 2008 at 10:58 pm -0500
Oh good lord I spelled congatulations wrong...
Submitted by NeW SpEcTrUM - April 20, 2008 at 11:07 pm -0500
@GRIZZAM 512

We all make stupid mistakes like that. I put a completely unnecessary "did" in there.
Submitted by DarknessDeku - April 21, 2008 at 12:40 am -0500
@ GRIZZAM 512 and NeW SpEcTrUM

We really need quote and edit buttons.
Submitted by Kerotan - April 21, 2008 at 1:43 am -0500
@DarknessDeku

you speaks the truth!
Submitted by T5 - April 21, 2008 at 6:17 am -0500
A video game won't do it, DDT will
Submitted by T5 - April 21, 2008 at 6:20 am -0500
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0707/feature1/text3.html

Link

A good read for anyone who takes the issue seriously (I'm looking at you UN)
Submitted by Sean - April 21, 2008 at 8:11 am -0500
Speaking of Malaria in Africa, why is Far Cry 2 not getting the same political flak as Resident 5? Same setting, similar looking bad guys (they're black, and the developers aren't using the zombie excuse), so why does that get off the hook while Resident Evil 5 gets all the negative attention? Sorry if I'm being off topic.
Submitted by Vake Xeacons - April 21, 2008 at 8:39 am -0500
Like I always said: If we're going to reach out and help this world, it will be through games.
Submitted by JustChris - April 22, 2008 at 8:08 am -0500
@T5

You know, I may agree with that. A little DDT is what Africa needs. I watched a documentary on malaria, and it explained that DDT is what got the Americas out of their epidemic. Africa didn't have access to this "new breaking" pesticide, and by the time DDT was considered dangerous, Africa had no chance to use it.

However, DDT is not as effective in tropical climates, and it poses a dilemma against the current state of famine in many countries in Africa.
Submitted by 2e9f0ccc96b3 - May 9, 2008 at 7:08 am -0500
2e9f0ccc96b3...

2e9f0ccc96b33b1fc81b...

GamePolitics ShoutBox

Posted 07/04/09 at 09:24pm
PHX Corp: For those that want to know what i watching it's called man vs cartoon(a.k.a fixing Wile E. coyote's Mistakes one trap at a time by EMERTEC)
Posted 07/04/09 at 08:20pm
GoodRobotUs: Went out for my Mum's 65th Birthday, which is the only relevance 4/7 has in the UK for me ;)
Posted 07/04/09 at 08:18pm
Andrew Eisen: Beach + fireworks + root beer + strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, whipped topping, and pound cake = my Fourth of July!
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:58pm
GoodRobotUs: Which seems to be the only point Jack proved, that some people find some games offensive. i.e. Nothing.
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:57pm
GoodRobotUs: The discussion was supposed to be whether games were dangerous not 'Do you find some games offensive'...
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:55pm
GoodRobotUs: Some agreed, some didn't, but it was their choice to make, not the governments.
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:55pm
GoodRobotUs: By asking the audience their opinion, he more or less proved that it's a matter of personal choice
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:55pm
GoodRobotUs: Meh, he ended proving Mark's point for him
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:26pm
Erik: Jack if you are reading this you are a LIAR. There is no legal weight to the MPAA's ratings.
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:24pm
JDKJ: I still think my buddy the midget who rides a unicycle backwards while juggling four bowling pins would have been a much bigger hit with that crowd. And he can make up statistics and misinterpret studies, too.
Posted 07/04/09 at 06:33pm
Alyric: Of course, Mark falls into the common trap about Columbine, which had nothing to do with bullying, etc. See: http://slate.msn.com/id/2099203/?GT1=3256 for a more thorough explanation.
Posted 07/04/09 at 06:32pm
PHX Corp: Read this http://www.destructoid.com/sgc-09-liveblogging-the-jack-thompson-debate-138502.phtml#ext
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:54pm
PHX Corp: JT is afraid of such ban then advocates it That's what i call a total Hypocrite
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:50pm
PHX Corp: AE: JT is a -Bleeping- Jackass
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:07pm
Andrew Eisen: JT "knew it would be a good audience." Not what he said on Tuesday.
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:01pm
Andrew Eisen: VG cause violent behavior. VG companies influence behavior to get sales. Yeah, that makes sense. (To be fair, the Twitter feed makes deciphering JT's point pretty tough.)
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:52pm
Andrew Eisen: Yes, it's been proposed but as far as I know it has not been passed. Big difference.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:50pm
Cheater87: http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/formats/xbox360/all-violent-video-games-be-banned-in-germany-$1301757.htm
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:49pm
Andrew Eisen: Far as I know, Germany has not banned all violent video games.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:44pm
Cheater87: Jack wants the US to follow Germany's total video game ban.
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