Just moments ago, Ghana and Uruguay kicked-off their big World Cup match. Ghana’s the only African team still left in the widely-loved soccer tournament, so here’s hoping that they go far.

But the Black Stars haven’t just been working hard on the field. They’ve teamed up with United Against Malaria to help save lives off the field, too. They’ve shown malaria PSAs, talked about the importance of using bed nets and other malaria prevention tools, encouraged their communities to join in the fight.

To learn more about how you can help kick malaria to the curb, check out United Against Malaria today!

Fans can’t wait for Saturday, when the USA will play Ghana for a place in the quarter-finals. But regardless of the game’s outcome, one team is already guaranteed to advance: United Against Malaria.

United Against Malaria is a partnership of soccer stars and teams, celebrities, health and advocacy organizations including ONE, governments, corporations and grassroots supporters from all around the world. All of us have united for the World Cup to win the fight against malaria, a preventable disease which still kills a child every 30 seconds in Africa.

It’s very cool that Saturday’s match up brings together two of United Against Malaria’s most active supporters in U.S. Soccer and the Ghana Football Association—not to mention the hero of U.S. soccer fans everywhere, Landon Donovan, whose clutch play has vaulted the U.S. team to new heights on the world’s biggest stage. Another notable supporter is Kwesi Nyantakyi , President of the Ghana Football Association, whose squad is also shining brightly and has a whole continent behind it as the only remaining African team in the Cup.

By leveraging all the excitement of the first World Cup on African soil, United Against Malaria specifically aims to catalyze the world to reach the goal of universal access to mosquito nets and malaria medicine in Africa this year, a crucial first step to reaching the international target of reducing malaria deaths to near zero by 2015. It’s an ambitious goal, but with some extra effort and collective will, it’s achievable—sort of like what the U.S. and Ghana teams are showing on the field.

When it comes to the fight against malaria and soccer, I think Landon says it well, from United Against Malaria’s pre-match press release:

“Ordinarily, elimination is a word that no professional soccer player likes to hear, but when it comes to malaria, it’s the most worthwhile goal there is. As professional athletes, we understand the importance of putting together a team that has diversity in skill, but unity in a common goal. United, we can defeat malaria.”

So as the World Cup drama and your fan-fueled enthusiasm intensifies this weekend, be sure to check out United Against Malaria and find out how you can play a part in bringing an end to malaria deaths in five years.

Visit www.UnitedAgainstMalaria.org.

Go USA! Go Ghana! And go United Against Malaria!

The football World Cup continues in South Africa and to coincide with the tournament our friends at United Against Malaria have produced a special World Cup edition of their magazine ‘Goal!’

Every 40 seconds, a child in sub-Saharan Africa dies from a mosquito bite. Yet malaria is an entirely preventable and treatable disease with affordable solutions.

United Against Malaria is a partnership of football teams, celebrities, health and advocacy organizations, governments, corporations, and individuals who have united ahead of the World Cup to win the fight against the disease. It’s goal is to galvanize partners throughout the world to reach the United Nations target of universal access to mosquito nets and malaria medicine in Africa by the end of 2010, a crucial first step to reaching the international target of reducing deaths to near zero by 2015.

As well as lots of useful information about malaria GOAL! Also includes an interview with Kolo Toure, member of the Ivory Coast football team and UAM Champion.

Download the World Cup edition of Goal! (PDF format) and find out more about the campaign.

[...]With the advancements we have made in medicine, there is no reason for Malaria to infect millions of people in 106 countries. Even so, the impact of the disease on health care budgets and economies in Africa is staggering. In fact, health officials in Africa spend 40 percent of their health care budgets on Malaria in hopes of educating, preventing, and treating the disease. In addition, the 250 million people who become sick and suffer from symptoms, such as fever and headache, are not able to work or go to school. As a result, healthy family members are forced to leave work to care for their ill relatives and more than $12 billion in productivity and resources are lost.

Preventative measures, such as spraying homes with insecticide and sleeping under insecticide-treated nets, are cost-effective ways to reduce the transmission of Malaria. We have seen the success of these measures both in Ethiopia and Zanzibar. In Ethiopia, cases of Malaria fell 60 percent and deaths decreased by 51 percent in two years time. In Zanzibar, Malaria in school children was reduced from 60 percent to about one percent. These are excellent results, and we must to use this momentum to build on our progress.

Meanwhile, Malaria No More has a great video of Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi speaking at a United Against Malaria reception last week. He gets huge applause with the line “No more malaria deaths by 2015– we can do that”. Check it out:

For the very first time, the Archbishop of Canterbury (the head of the Church of England) recorded a message for World Malaria Day to show his support and urge others to help kick malaria out for good. He made the message in support of United Against Malaria, a diverse coalition that aims to raise global awareness and renew worldwide commitment to ending malaria.

Here’s an excerpt of the Archbishop’s message. You can listen to his full remarks in the video below.
“One of the things that I was taught when I was growing up was that among the greatest achievements of modern science was the identification of where malaria came from. That was many years ago and in the intervening years, tragically the challenge of malaria has grown worse not better…But we do have the resources to eliminate malaria. The goal has been set for getting rid of malaria and on this World Malaria Day it’s important to remember that goal.”

On World Malaria Day and throughout 2010, ONE is part of a global partnership called United Against Malaria, which brings together other nonprofits, corporations, athletes, celebrities, government officials and grassroots activists to kick the world into high gear to end deaths from malaria. The project, which is playing off the popularity of soccer, especially the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, will have many activities going on around the world this week and more ways to get involved throughout the summer.

One of the coolest elements of United Against Malaria is a new film documentary called “When the Night Comes.” Directed by Bobby Bailey, founder of the organization Invisible Children, the film is an entertaining, emotional and insightful look at the devastating effect of malaria in Africa and how it can be beat. Among others, ONE’s President and CEO David Lane is featured in the film (check out the video clip below).

You can watch the film yourself or check the film’s facebook page for future screenings and more info. A clip from the film is also being featured in ONE Sabbath events on World Malaria Day this Sunday.

Here’s the “When the Night Comes” trailer:

And here’s a 4-minute clip from the film:

How did you come up with the idea to pair soccer with fighting malaria?

We started thinking about it a couple of years ago. We realized that the 2010 World Cup was going to be in South Africa—and that malaria is a critical issue on the African continent. Then we noticed that lots of our partners already had strong relationships with soccer players and organizations. It seemed like a perfect fit.

And why is the 2010 World Cup so important?

It’s important for a couple of reasons. 2010 is the first time that the World Cup will be on African soil. It’s also a critical year for the development community. In 2010, we’ll be taking a close look at the Millennium Development Goals and how much progress has been made. There’s been lots of progress on malaria. There are more bed nets and better drugs available—both critical to the fight against malaria.

So we should expect to start seeing a lot of special UAM soccer balls around?

Absolutely. You can sign the virtual soccer ball on our website, or play the “World Cup Challenge: Kick Malaria” soccer game on Facebook. We’ve even engaged a young soccer star from Uganda, 12-year-old Charles Ssali, to carry a soccer ball as he travels the globe from Addis Ababa to New York City to Brussels. Next month he’ll travel to Cape Town for the World Cup draw and present a soccer ball to political and sports leaders.

An impressive roster of celebrities, politicians, soccer stars, organizations have lined up to help UAM.

We have such a wide range of champions—and they’re all really excited to be involved. Everyone from Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, to the South African mobile phone company MTN, toShoprite, an African supermarket chain. US Men’s National Team captain Landon Donovan even did a PSA for us that just launched at our official kick-off in New York City. We’ve attracted lots of people.

What do you think people would be most surprised to learn about malaria?

The number of people who are impacted every year. Malaria kills a child in Africa every 30 seconds. It kills nearly one million people each year. But it’s very cheap to prevent it. You can buy a bed net for just $10. This is a disease that we can do something about. In Zambia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, we’re making real progress. A lot of progress has been made in the fight against malaria since I started working on this issue five years ago.

How did you first get interested in malaria?

I originally worked on HIV/AIDS. But when I came to the Gates Foundation, malaria was a big priority—and I learned that malaria was both preventable and treatable. It’s great to work on something that gives you such hope.

Is there something you’ve learned that’s really stuck with you?

I think what’s really sticking with me is how much energy so many of the African leaders have around the issue. There’s a real concerted effort to fight malaria, across a remarkable range of countries, organizations and individuals.

What are a few simple ways that people can get involved with UAM?

There are lots of options. Go to our website, make a contribution, encourage leaders to support the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Soccer really is a great metaphor for our campaign. This is a team sport. We’re all in this together. It’s time to pass the ball. It’s time to reach our goals.

As covered before on the ONE Blog, United Against Malaria is an effort that aims to kick the world into high gear to beat malaria by leveraging soccer and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Like any good squad, United Against Malaria is fielding a versatile group of players, including soccer stars, government officials, celebrities, corporations and NGOs, including ONE.

Many people representing this diverse partnership were at today’s launch, but perhaps the biggest star was the smallest person in the room. Charles Ssali, a 12-year-old soccer player from Uganda, is the “global emissary” for United Against Malaria. Charles wears number five for his local youth team in Uganda and has played in tournaments as far away as Sweden and Denmark. Charles is also a malaria survivor and has seen the disease impact his community and friends firsthand. Ever since recovering from malaria at age four, Charles has slept under a bed net and told his friends to do the same. Now he’s taking the message that he tells his friends on the soccer fields of his native Uganda—that you can stop malaria with simple, effective solutions—all over the world with the United Against Malaria team.

In addition to today’s launch in New York City, Charles will be launching the effort in Brussels, Addis Ababa and Cape Town. When I talked to him after the event and told him that’s a lot of travel for a little guy, he flashed his big smile at me and said he’s really enjoying his first trip to New York City, he’s excited to travel to Brussels next, but he is most looking forward to Johannesburg, where he’ll see the World Cup.

Beyond Charles, other big names from the soccer world spoke this morning, including Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber and Fox Soccer Channel’s lead announcer Max Bretos. Both discussed how the sport, probably the most popular in the world, and its biggest moment, the World Cup, have the potential to tap into a huge audience. It’s an audience—sports fans, youth soccer players, soccer moms and dads—who may not yet fully know the malaria story, but who have the potential to be passionate, engaged advocates once they see malaria can be beat.

From the NGO world, ONE’s own U.S. Executive Director Sheila Nix and Malaria No More’s Chairman Peter Chernin discussed how United Against Malaria can mobilize this new audience into effective political advocacy. The ultimate aim is to catalyze the world to reach the international target of reducing malaria deaths to near zero by 2015. It’s a goal that is within reach. Sheila and Peter pointed out the tremendous gains that have been achieved in just the last few years thanks to African leadership supported by effective U.S. and international efforts like the President’s Malaria Initiative and the Global Fund. Malaria rates have been slashed in countries like Rwanda and Ethiopia. But if we want to finish the deal and finally end deaths from malaria, these programs will need continued support. Sheila and Peter said United Against Malaria can play a pivotal role by making the connection clear for the public about how contacting your member of Congress to support effective programs will result in lives saved.

Finally, two more critical leaders, Ray Chambers, the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Malaria, and Bishop Thomas Bickerton of the United Methodist Church talked about how all this progress is being forged on the ground level in Africa with proven tools like bed nets, malaria treatment and better public awareness. Both spoke eloquently on the power of individuals such as Charles to make a difference in this fight, including both advocates like ONE members in the United States and community leaders in Africa raising awareness of effective prevention measures.

And now with United Against Malaria officially kicked off in the United States, there is only one thing missing from the team: you. The good news is that there are no tryouts (especially for me and my rusty soccer skills). All you need is a belief that in the next five years, deaths from malaria must end, and a voice to recruit your friends and press your elected officials. Be sure to follow the rest of Charles’s journey and join the United Against Malaria team at www.unitedagainstmalaria.com.

Soccer stars, foundations, governments, and corporations are all joining forces ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa to unite against malaria. And don’t forget the NGOs, too, including UAM’s founding partners ONE, PATH, Malaria No More, Roll Back Malaria, Comic Relief, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Population Services International and the United Nations Foundation, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. By leveraging soccer—one of the most popular sports in the world—UAM aims to raise global awareness and renew worldwide commitment to ending malaria.

So what can you do to join in the cause? Visit the UAM website and sign the virtual soccer ball to show your support. Read all the latest news on the UAM blog (don’t miss the behind-the-scenes post with U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team Captain Landon Donovan), play the “World Cup Soccer Challenge: Kick Malaria” game on Facebook, even add a UAM twibbon (a colorful football) to the bottom of your twitter avatar. Check out their new site today!