Published: February 9, 2010, 3:34 pm
Lady Jay Dee, Professor Jay, Tanzania House of Talent, plus Many Others Artists Will Challenge Tanzanians to “Wake Up!” to the Malaria Threat
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (February 9th, 2010) — More than 15 of Tanzania’s biggest music stars will perform during the nationally broadcast Zinduka! (“Wake-up!”) Concert on February 13th. This is the kickoff event of the Malaria Haikubaliki: Tushirikiane Kuitokomeza awareness campaign, meaning “Malaria is unacceptable: Working together, we can eliminate malaria.” A complete list of scheduled acts will be officially announced on Tuesday, February 9th at 10:00 a.m. at the [Information Centre- Maelezo Hall] in Dar es Salaam.
The February 13th Zinduka! Concert at the Leaders’ Club in Dar es Salaam will be hosted by His Excellency President Jakaya M. Kikwete, who will lead Malaria Haikubaliki: Tushirikiane Kuitokomeza, which urges Tanzanians to protect themselves and their families from malaria. Some of the artists who have signed up to launch Malaria Haikubaliki include: Kidumu, Diamond, Dully Sykes Marlaw, Professor Jay, Lady Jay Dee, Mwasiti, Bi Kidude, Banana Zoro, Ray C, Maunda Zoro, Tanzania House of Talent (THT) dance troupe, Banana, amini and pipi, Mataluma and R Tony. Tickets for Zinduka! are 3,000 shillings and are on sale at zuzu, Steers at Millenium Tower and Town Outlet.
Zinduka! will help kick off Malaria Haikubaliki’s 2010 activities and will be aired through television and radio, reaching millions of Tanzanians with a message of personal responsibility for malaria control. In addition, 18 popular Tanzanian artists have composed and released an original song about malaria—the biggest collaboration on a song ever made in Tanzania – which will be performed live at the concert.
“Music has an incredible power to tell the story of Tanzania’s fight against malaria and our ultimate success against the disease,” said campaign spokeswoman Lady Jay Dee. “At the Zinduka! Concert, all of Tanzania will be able to raise its voice in song to call for the end of malaria in our country.”
Tanzania is poised to become one of the first African countries to achieve universal access to mosquito nets and affordable treatment for all of its citizens. In support of this landmark effort, Malaria Haikubaliki is calling on all sectors of society—including entertainment, business, sports and faith—to unite against malaria and help eliminate malarial deaths across the country.
Throughout 2010, the campaign will work to increase practices to prevent malaria such as consistently sleeping under an insecticide treated mosquito net; detecting and treating malaria early; and ensuring antenatal care for pregnant women. Malaria Haikubaliki will achieve this by providing malaria education and awareness and leveraging community mobilization activities, PSAs, television and radio messaging, billboards, community-level cultural and sporting events, and roadshows to ensure that every family in the country hears the message that malaria is unacceptable. In Tanzania, malaria kills an estimated 60,000 people every year, with most of its victims being children under five.
Malaria Haikubaliki: Tushirikiane Kuitokomeza is led by the Tanzanian Government and Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Additional malaria campaign partners include the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, Malaria No More, Population Services International, Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, Tanzanian Red Cross, United Against Malaria, MEDA Christian Social Services Commission, Bakwata (the National Muslim Council) and World Vision, with support from the Global Fund to the Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative.
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Malaria No More is determined to end malaria deaths in Africa by 2015—and we’re helping the world get it done. Malaria No More leverages high-impact awareness campaigns to engage the world, global advocacy to rally leadership and strategic investments to accelerate progress. Malaria No More is a non-profit, non-governmental organization.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Communication Programs implements two malaria programs in Tanzania. The COMMIT project is a 5 year USAID – President’s Malaria Initiative funded program that focuses on behaviors change communication reinforcing positive practices for malaria control and treatment. The Voices II program works to raise the visibility of Malaria on the local and national agenda.
PSI Tanzania is a Tanzanian not-for-profit organization, which has a strong network of 19 zonal and regional offices across mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. With the support of the Government of Tanzania, the Global Fund, and USAID, PSI Tanzania is implementing major mass media and community- based communications campaigns around malaria prevention and treatment, including the under-five catch-up campaign and the Tanzanian Voucher Scheme that allows pregnant women and infants to obtain a highly subsidized long lasting net.
United Against Malaria is a partnership of football teams and heroes, celebrities, health and advocacy organizations, governments, and corporations, who have united ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa to win the fight against malaria. The partnership’s goal is to galvanize partners throughout the world to reach the United Nations target of universal access to mosquito nets and malaria medicine in Africa by the end of 2010, a crucial first step to reaching the international target of reducing deaths to near zero by 2015. www.UnitedAgainstMalaria.org
