Munich Re Assumes Administration For NetGuarantee

Example of Private Sector Innovation to Combat Disease

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May 07, 2013, 01:51 ET

NEW YORK, May 7, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Malaria No More, the New York-based parent company of NetGuarantee LLC (NetGuarantee), today announced that Munich Re will assume administration for the NetGuarantee program.

Established by Malaria No More in 2009, NetGuarantee — a first-of-its-kind innovative finance mechanism — was created to help accelerate the delivery of life-saving health commodities to at-risk populations using private sector, market-based solutions. Since its founding, NetGuarantee has received financial and other support from the Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ExxonMobil, Goldman Sachs Gives, Soros Economic Development Fund, Crowell & Moring, and Malaria No More.

NetGuarantee launched its inaugural transaction in 2011 to help expedite the delivery of 250,000 mosquito nets, funded by a grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund), to the people of Mozambique in southeast Africa. Under the pilot transaction, NetGuarantee's program allowed mosquito net production to begin seven months before the grant funds were disbursed. The nets reached Mozambique in November 2011, and were quickly distributed to areas of the country hit hardest by the disease just in advance of the country's peak malaria transmission season. Montrose Africa, an independent consultancy based in Africa, estimated that over 54,000 malaria cases were averted and more than 200 lives were saved because of this one transaction. As a result of the transfer of the NetGuarantee program to Munich Re, payment insurance for future projects supported by the program will be provided by a special primary insurer of Munich Re.

"The transaction in Mozambique clearly demonstrated that private sector financial practices can support Global Fund efforts to work with countries to avoid cases of disease and save lives," said Martin Edlund, CEO of Malaria No More. "We are delighted that Munich Re will enhance and scale up the NetGuarantee concept by granting payment insurance for future projects."

The transfer of the NetGuarantee program to Munich Re highlights the powerful impact that private sector collaboration can have on global public health. "Innovative approaches like NetGuarantee make a tremendous difference, and this move shows how working together with private sector solutions can advance our collective goals," said Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund.

About Malaria No More
Malaria No More is determined to end malaria deaths. We're helping the world get it done by engaging leaders, rallying the public, and delivering life-saving tools and education to families across Africa. Founded in 2006 by business leaders Ray Chambers and Peter Chernin, Malaria No More is working to create a world in which no one dies from a mosquito bite. For more information, visit www.MalariaNoMore.org.

Media Contact:
Erica Lichtenberger
Malaria No More
(212) 710-5891
[email protected]

SOURCE Malaria No More