Many of us can safely say that we don’t really worry about malaria that much. Sure, we’ve heard of it (whether in the news or as that town John Cusack, as the cartoon character Igor, lived in), and I hate mosquitoes just as much as the next person. They always seem to find me first when they first arrive in the summer and are the bane of my existence for at least four or five months—but, as pesky and painful as they can be, they don’t make me fear for my life in America.

But how many of us draw mosquito netting around our beds at night hoping that we won’t become infected with a deadly virus? How many of us spend 30% of our income on preventing mosquito bites that could kill us or our children? It turns out that a whopping half of the world does; about 3.3 billion people are at risk for malaria right now.

A million people die of malaria every year, and 250 million are infected. In Africa, out of every five children who die, one is due to malaria—and a typical African child comes down with at least two cases of malaria fever every year. Can you imagine how that must be, to live in constant fear of this disease that you absolutely have no control over?

The good news is that malaria is preventable. By using mosquito bed nets, we can cut cases down tremendously; and by providing access to anti-malaria drugs, we cannot prevent the mosquito bites themselves but we can prevent the bites from becoming deathly infections for those who are bitten.

So what can we do to help promote these life-saving measures? For starters, we can ensure that every person has a bed net. The World Bank Group, for example, just donated $250 million to provide 25 million bed nets in Africa. As amazing as this gesture is, we can all help out by purchasing as many bed nets as we can. You might think that you can’t save a life, but did you know that a bed net only costs $10 (which includes distribution costs and education provided on how to use the net)? That’s about the cost of two and a half lattes for many people! If you have the money to donate a net, please consider doing so today. Nothing But Nets is a great organization that will distribute these nets. You can also start your own team to raise funds and get others in on helping to curb malaria’s destruction. A single 9-year-old girl and her family have helped send thousands of nets to people at risk of getting malaria! Imagine if the rest of us just pitched in a single net.