World Cup football drive to stop malaria

A huge campaign to reduce the number of deaths from malaria in Africa has been launched by a global communications partner.

MTN has revealed that the initiative hopes to save lives and spread the word of how beneficial having the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is.

It is hoped that more than four million lives could be saved by 2015, with a number of leading malaria groups involved, including the United Nations Foundation, Malaria No More, Roll Back Malaria Partnership and PATH.

The momentum and coverage provided by the world's biggest football tournament could drive the initiative to even greater achievements.

Nozipho January-Bardill, MTN corporate affairs group executive, said: "With the parasite killing more children under the age of five in Africa than any other disease and infecting hundreds of millions more, something as simple as using a mosquito net can ensure that everyone gets to experience the first ever FIFA World Cup in Africa next year."

Rwanda, Ghana, Zambia, Uganda, the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Botswana, Swaziland, Congo Brazzaville, Nigeria, Benin, Liberia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Rwanda will all benefit from the project.

South Africa will also host the Confederations Cup later this year.

News brought to you by Global health TV, covering the issues of health in the developing world