Brazil national team player Kaka (in yellow) lunges for the ball in front of a United Against Malaria banner at the Tanzania vs. Brazil friendlies match.

Tanzania and Brazil may currently be worlds apart on the football field, but share a common foe: malaria. Malaria is the number one killer in Tanzania, causing one in three deaths among children under five years old. In Brazil, malaria causes 300,000 cases of illness and more than 50 deaths per year, even though this disease is both treatable and preventable.

So when the two national teams convened for a friendly match on June 7 in Dar es Salaam, organizers of East Africa’s biggest football match raised the banner of the United Against Malaria campaign, hoping to raise awareness among sports fans and dignitaries alike. They succeeded; some 30,000 fans attended the game, while thousands more tuned into ESPN’s global coverage of the event. President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania signed a UAM ball to pledge his support of the campaign, as did several delegates from both countries. Kaka, Brazil’s biggest football star signed two balls.

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