United Against Malaria (UAM)

UAM centres around an edutainment strategy in the form of the "Kick Malaria" Facebook game. Their presence on social networks is also intended to draw on social networking platforms to spread the word about malaria.

Printed materials are also being used to raise awareness. For instance, in January 2010 18 UAM billboards were erected in Mali's capital, Bamako, in an effort to help educate the public about malaria prevention and treatment through eye-catching messages. The billboards convey catchy adages such as "2010, the year of victory over malaria" and "One Team One Goal." They also provide educational information about prevention and treatment options, instructing the public to sleep under insecticide-treated bed nets every night, bring pregnant women to prenatal consultations, and take children with fevers to the nearest health clinic. These messages are displayed alongside national football heroes to encourage football fans across the country to protect themselves from malaria.

A variety of in-person, sports-oriented activities are also being planned - and are described on the interactive UAM website. For example, in November 2009, Charles Ssali, the face of the UAM campaign, participated in a game called "Mosquito Tag," which helps provide lessons on how to prevent malaria, while visiting a primary school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. "Seleme seleme, eya seleme aha", an Amharic statement meaning "peace to all" is the title of the song used to warm up children participating in the game. Charles lent his voice to the game by saying that he had learned that it was important to clear bushes and stagnant water around living environments so as to destroy the breeding areas for the mosquitoes. Such play-based learning exercises were meant to help children learn to protect themselves against infectious and preventable diseases such as malaria.

Health.

Organisers cite the following statistics:

• Malaria kills a child in Africa every 30 seconds and nearly one million people each year.
• Worldwide, 3.3 billion people are at risk of malaria.
• 91% of malaria deaths occur in Africa; 85% of these are children under 5 years of age.