Using mosquito nets impregnated with insect repellent is especially dramatic in the battle against malaria. Nets are the focus of numerous charitable campaigns now under way.

• Villages that got nets in randomized controlled trials experienced declines in malaria deaths in young children of 33 percent (Kenya) and 17 percent (Ghana).

• In Gambia, the nets also cut mortality from all causes, not only malaria, by 25 percent in children ages 1 to 9.

• Insecticide-impregnated nets cost about $10 each -- within the reach of small donors, including children in rich countries, though out of the reach of many African households.

• One charitable campaign called ``Nothing but Nets,'' has raised $1.7 million since May. It was inspired by Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, was launched by the U.N. Foundation and is supported by the National Basketball Association and the Methodist Church, among others.

• Newly formed Malaria No More, which promotes public-private partnerships, has produced a 16-page book called ``Nets Are Nice'' (with a foreword by Laura Bush) that will be given to every U.S. first-grader in March