How can you help fight malaria?

[Ed. note: This is a guest post by Scott Case, CEO of Malaria No More - a non-profit, non-governmental organization that aims to end deaths caused by malaria. Today is World Malaria Day and here are Scott's thoughts on the epidemic and what we can do to help fight it]

Over the past week, Ashton Kutcher’s race with CNN to one million Twitter followers showed the incredible power of new technologies and social networks to get a message out---and in this case, to help end malaria. Ashton leveraged his following on Twitter to raise awareness about malaria and drive donations to Malaria No More. But in today's world of online communities, each of us has the same digital tools at our disposal to beat malaria. Each of us has the potential to influence our networks.

Networks open doors to the best expertise, to essential technology, and to financial resources that have a huge impact. We know that malaria can be stopped with simple tools like medicines, indoor sprays and mosquito nets. Momentum is building to end malaria deaths by 2015 - an ambitious goal, but achievable. As I mentioned earlier, it just requires the power of your network.

To commemorate World Malaria Day today, I’m asking the LinkedIn network for help. My question to you is:

How can you use your expertise and networks to help the malaria community?

- increase public awareness in donor nations and in Africa
- advocate for political support around the world and especially in Africa
- make leveraged investments in Africa that help save lives

Click here to answer my question, and then continue the conversation in our LinkedIn group, Linked To End Malaria. The group provides a forum for us to mobilize hundreds or (maybe) thousands of professionals in our networks to make a difference in the fight against malaria. There you can share your ideas, collaborate and take action with others who refuse to accept another death from malaria.

Ashton proved the power of his network with one million followers - let's find out what the LinkedIn community can do with 40 million professionals.