United Against Malaria

Goal!

Jun 22nd, 2010 2:00 PM UTC
By David Cole

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.

Kick out malaria with the Archbishop of Canterbury

Apr 22nd, 2010 10:35 PM UTC
By Kara Arsenault

For the very first time, the Archbishop of Canterbury has 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:

“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.”

You can listen to his full remarks in the video below:

Rolling Back Malaria

Dec 18th, 2009 9:38 AM UTC
By Kara Arsenault

Here’s a cross-post from our partners at UNICEF

At a New York City reception last week, UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman and key members of the Roll Back Malaria team joined together to applaud a new UN General Assembly resolution on the killer disease.

Roll Back Malaria is a worldwide public-private partnership created in 1998 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Development Programme, UNICEF and the World Bank.

Adopted by consensus last Monday, December 7, the UN resolution urges the international community—together with UN agencies, the public and private sectors, and foundations—to support implementation of Roll Back Malaria’s Global Malaria Action Plan. It calls on donors to step up funding for anti-malaria efforts and for affected countries to strengthen their national policies.

“In adopting this resolution, Member States, including donors and endemic countries, have reaffirmed their commitment to combat malaria,” said Hervé Verhoosel, the External Relations Manager for Roll Back Malaria in New York. “Malaria kills about 900,000 people a year, but most of those deaths could be avoided with the right mix of prevention and treatment.”

At the event, Verhoosel also introduced United Against Malaria, a campaign to engage and mobilize football fans around the world. The 2010 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in South Africa, provides an opportunity to build support for the 2010 target of universal access to mosquito nets and malaria treatment in Africa—a crucial first step toward the Millennium Development Goal of reducing malaria deaths to near zero by 2015.

“United Against Malaria aims to reach out to children in a language they will understand: sport. If a football player says to sleep under a bed net, the chances are greater that a child will do so,” said Verhoosel.

“Time and again we hear that basic health is essential to economic prosperity,” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha Rose Migiro. “Yet countless poor people continue to suffer and die from diseases that can be prevented or treated. Malaria is a case in point. Together, we can help save lives in every endemic country and community. We have momentum, let’s keep going forward.”

-Amy Bennett, Assignment Editor, UNICEF

United Against Malaria kicks off in UK

Sep 9th, 2009 3:10 PM UTC
By Helen Palmer

A new campaign to combat malaria is launching in the UK today – and ONE is part of it. United Against Malaria brings us together with Comic Relief and Malaria No More as well as a team of football stars, celebrities, foundations and corporations. The campaign is setting its sights on the FIFA World Cup next July and the goal is for everyone in Africa to have access to mosquito nets and malaria nets by 2010.

We’ve chosen today to start talking about the campaign as it’s the day that the England football team play Croatia in a World Cup qualifying match. There will be a more formal launch in November.

-Helen Palmer