United Against Malaria African private sector partners contribute USD 250,000 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
15 October 2010
This represents the first ever donation to the Global Fund by African Corporate Partners
Johannesburg, October 15, 2010: Leading African private sector partners of the United Against Malaria (UAM) campaign gave back to their continent today by making the first African corporate donation to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria—the world’s largest international funder of the fight against malaria. At the launch of the Kingsley Holgate All Afrika United Against Malaria expedition, MTN, Nando’s and Standard Bank presented a cheque for USD 250,000 to the Global Fund. This represents the first installment of pledged resources from UAM’s African corporate partners who aspire to donate at least USD 1 million under the ‘Gift from Africa’ initiative announced last month
The resources were raised through the sale of the UAM bracelets, a brightly colored beaded bracelet representing the colours of the United Against Malaria logo and made in South African townships by marginalized workers, and from a portion of the ticket sales for MTN’s World Cup Fan Parks. Said Ms Nozipho January-Bardill, MTN Group Executive and Spokesperson: Corporate Affairs: “As the first and only African sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, MTN sought to leave a lasting legacy that will endure long after the final whistle. Working with the United Against Malaria campaign has been a wonderful opportunity for MTN to fight malaria in many different ways from using our vast footprint and network across the continent to distribute malaria bed nets and raise awareness about malaria, to generating revenue for the Global Fund from our fan parks during the FIFA World Cup™. We are delighted to see the first installment of funds raised from the bracelet sales and from MTN’s two FIFA World Cup™ fan parks going to the Global Fund to fund malaria programmes on the continent.”
The United Against Malaria bracelet not only raises funds to fight malaria (USD 1 is contributed to the Global Fund from every bracelet sold), but through the Relate Trust, has also enabled the creation of sustainable employment for hundreds of unskilled workers in some of South Africa’s poorest townships, many of who are affected by HIV/AIDS. Income derived from the making of these bracelets helps combat poverty and gives those involved a sense of purpose as well as a much needed source of income to support their families. The UAM bracelet project, developed by the Relate Trust and Nando’s has become an integral part of the United Against Malaria campaign and has become a way to connect ‘Malaria Warriors’ across the world to each other and to a worthy cause. Nando’s and Exclusive Books sell the bracelets in their retail outlets, DSG has created an online store at www.digitalmall.com/uam and many other corporates have contributed by purchasing bracelets for their staff
The Global Fund, a unique global public-private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria is looking more and more towards the private sector to join the fight against the three diseases. Welcoming the contribution, David Hayward Evans, head of private sector partnerships at the Global Fund said, “It is a momentous occasion to be receiving this cheque as it represents the true commitment that the United Against Malaria corporate partners have to their continent. You can see that they are passionate about fighting malaria and are working together as a team for the greater good of their fellow Africans who suffer daily. It shows that the private sector really can make an impact in the fight against the three diseases, through its commitment to innovation and leadership.”
United Against Malaria is a partnership of football teams, corporations, celebrities, health and advocacy organizations, governments and individuals who came together ahead of the FIFA 2010 World Cup to leverage the power of football to win the fight against malaria, a preventable disease which by the end of last year and despite great progress, was still killing a child in Africa every 45 seconds. This translates to a drop from 1 million deaths a year to approximately 700,000, but there is still a lot that needs to be done to reach the Millennium Development Goal of bringing deaths from malaria to near zero by 2015. In addition, it is estimated that the effects of malaria cost the African continent USD 30 billion in lost GDP annually, which gives corporates working in Africa an economic incentive to continue to strengthen their fight against malaria.
“When we were approached to join United Against Malaria, we wanted to find out how much of an effect malaria has on Standard Bank every year. With employees missing an average of one to five days per episode of malaria, we learned that malaria cost Standard Bank ZAR 45 million (USD 6 million) in 2009. With this staggering figure we knew that we wanted to commit to ensuring that our employees as well as their families and communities are able to be healthy and productive.” Clive Tasker, Chief Executive, Standard Bank Africa.
The financial contribution presented to the Global Fund today represents the commitment of a wide range of corporate partners based in South Africa who are working with the United Against Malaria campaign to raise awareness about the effects of malaria in Africa, raise money for protection and prevention efforts, educate their employees and the communities where they work, and decrease the economic toll that malaria takes on Africa every year. These partners include: &Beyond, Africa Geographic, Anglo American, Anglo Gold Ashanti, Big Brother Africa, DSG, Endemol, Exclusive Books, FedEx, MNet, MTN, Nando’s, Nikon, Premier Medical Corporation Limited, The Relate Trust, Sasol, Standard Bank, Super Sport, Syngenta, Tourvest, Vestergaard-Frandsen, and Wildcam.
“Nando’s has been fighting malaria on the continent through the Kingsley Holgate Expeditions since 2003 and to be able to unite with other African corporates under the United Against Malaria banner to continue the fight and raise money to buy nets for distribution is an amazing and meaningful thing to be a part of. We are excited that we could donate this money today in conjunction with the launch of Kingsley’s second United Against Malaria expedition,” said Robbie Brozin, CEO of Nando’s.
Through sponsorship of Kingsley Holgate’s expeditions across Africa, corporate partners of UAM support another means of malaria prevention in Africa. The first United Against Malaria expedition left on World Malaria Day, April 25, 2010 and visited 12 countries in 6 weeks, with over 13,000 mosquito nets distributed. Companies involved include 4x4 Megaworld, Canvas and Tent, Captain Morgan, Cooper Tires, FedEx, Garmin, LandRover, MTN, Nando’s, Nikon, Standard Bank and Vestergaard-Frandsen.
Today, Kingsley Holgate prepares to embark on the ‘All Afrika’ United Against Malaria expedition, which will take him, his wife, and 5000 mosquito nets to the only five countries in Africa that he has yet to visit in his previous expeditions. With an official send-off from Accra, Ghana, the team will travel to Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic and finally Equatorial Guinea to explore, raise awareness about malaria prevention and treatment and distribute mosquito nets to those in need.