Nigerian Artists join global campaign against malaria
Nigerian Grammy Award winners Yemi Alade and Meji Alabi joined global campaign against malaria deaths, the 2020 World Malaria Report said that, Nigeria has the highest number of malaria cases in the continent and globally
Yemi Alade
In a critical year in the fight to end one of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases within a generation, with game-changing high-level summits in both Rwanda and the USA, global stars have joined forces with youth and scientists from around the world, to turn up the pressure on world leaders to commit to ending malaria and invest funds totalling US$18 billion at the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment, in the next exciting phase of the multi-award-winning Draw the Line Against Malaria campaign.
Meji Alabi
Showcasing at the Paramount/MTV Africa Day Concert on May 28, 2022 in Johannesburg, a new campaign film directed by Grammy-winning Meji Alabi, is fronted by Eliud Kipchoge, Kenyan Olympic Gold-medalist and marathon world record-holder; Faith Kipyegon, Kenyan 2016 Rio Olympic and 2020 Tokyo Olympic running champion; malaria champion David Beckham; international footballing star Pierre Emerick Aubameyang; Nigerian Afropop singer, songwriter and actress Yemi Alade, and South African television presenter, Bonang Matheba.
Over the past year the ground-breaking campaign, developed by Dentsu International in 2021 as a youth pillar of the global Zero Malaria Starts With Me movement, has united people across the world at a time when malaria kills a child every minute, generating over 35 million engagements across the campaign’s website and social media channels.
According to the 2020 World Malaria Report, Nigeria has the highest number of malaria cases in the continent and globally. The country accounts for 27% of the estimated 241 million malaria cases worldwide, and 23% of mortality.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has invested in malaria prevention strategies and tools, including investment in antimalarial drugs through its partnership with the Global Fund, USAID’s President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and other non-governmental players.
In April 2021, the Federal Government of Nigeria led by the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire launched the Global Fund 2021-2023 Malaria grant, which aims to not just reduce the malaria burden, but eliminate it.
During the flag-off, he said “Malaria remains a public health challenge. While Nigeria witnessed the largest reduction in malaria death in 2019 … we must be mindful of other challenges posed by COVID-19 and work to mitigate the impact. We appreciate all the partners that have been working with us to achieve the desired goal.”
May 25, 2022, Lagos, Nigeria, Yemi Alade and Meji Alabi joined a stellar cast of international changemakers to turn up the pressure in the fight against malaria today, launching the second chapter of the multi-award-winning Draw the Line Against Malaria campaign.
In a world still reeling from the far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with global health security and pandemic preparedness remaining at the top of world leaders’ agendas, the next chapter of the campaign aims to turn up the pressure on world leaders to commit to ending malaria at the Kigali Summit and investing funds totalling US$18 billion at the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment in New York this Autumn.
Vanguard/Oluchi.O
