Didier Drogba Versus Malaria

As people all over the world hold their breath for one of the largest and most popular sporting events to begin — the World Cup — some of the players competing have other issues on their minds.

Via topmercato.com

Didier Drogba is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Cote d'Ivoire national football team. He spent his childhood in native Cote d'Ivoire, playing football with friends and fighting for his life. Drogba is not only a football legend today, but also a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador. Since becoming an ambassador in 2007, he has been actively raising awareness of Africa's challenges to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

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He has witnessed the devastating effects of malaria first hand. In his video, he depicts how his friends and he would play a long and perilous football game against the mosquitoes. He emphasizes that it only takes one mosquito to catch malaria. He shares that he was one of the 207 million cases of malaria in 2012, but he was able to get the treatment and care he needed.

Via undp.org

While malaria mortality rates have been slashed by more than 40 percent since 2000, malaria still kills more than half a million people a year. Most of those who lose the match to malaria live in sub-Saharan Africa. Drogba is thankful that football can be used as a platform to raise awareness about malaria.

Via blogs.lesinrocks.com

Drogba emphasizes the importance of insecticide-impregnated bed nets as the most effective way to reduce malaria cases. He jokes about the simplicity of a net keeping out such a deadly disease as malaria.

Via teamblog.worldvision.org.nz

Only 3 percent of children under 5 slept under bed nets before 2007. It is no wonder Drogba speaks up from Cote d’Ivoire when malaria is the number one cause of hospitalization in the country. One out of six children every year run the risk of having an episode of malaria in the country.

Via italiatopgames.it

Sources: UNDP, WHO, UNICEF