"The 2010 World Cup is the greatest sports event ever to hit Africa and 'United Against Malaria' will be its winning team," said campaign manager Christina Barrineau at the European launch of the initiative on 16 November.
United Against Malaria is a partnership of football teams, celebrities, health advocacy organisations, governments and businesses to renew the global Millennium Development Goal commitment to ending malaria by 2015 and raise awareness regarding the use of prevention tools and malaria treatments in Africa.
"Malaria is a disease that kills, while it should no longer kill," stressed Awa Marie Coll-Seck, executive director of Roll Back Malaria, a global framework for malaria action. Indeed, experts emphasise that simple tools like mosquito nets, effective medicines and safe indoor spray can save lives if properly used.
Coll-Seck argued that the first-ever World Cup on the African continent is an opportunity that "cannot be missed" to raise awareness and change people's behaviour in malaria-endemic countries. The campaign encourages families to sleep under nets and take other precautionary measures to prevent the disease.
Major broadcasters have committed to relaying the message in the media, while grocery chain stores will do so on the ground. The campaign is also seeking to turn young kids into "malaria champions" by helping them to spread the message of the importance of sleeping under mosquito nets in their communities.
The European launch of the initiative took place in Brussels deliberately in order to draw the EU's attention to the disease.
Charles Michel, Belgium's minister for cooperation and development who is set to preside over the EU's development councils during the 2010 World Cup, said Belgium planned to give the fight against malaria new impetus at EU-level and better integrate it into sustainable development policies.
EU countries already contribute some €13 billion (60%) of global funding of €21 billion to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Malaria is a disease caused by parasites and transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. The parasite enters the bloodstream and causes flu-like symptoms, such as fever and headaches. If left untreated, the infection can lead to coma and death.
