Early man, confronting the manifestations of malaria, attributed fever to supernatural influences: evil spirits, angered deities, or the black magic of sorcerers. The ancient Chinese believed the frightening symptoms and signs to be the work of three demons, one with a hammer, one with a pail of cold water, and a third with a stove. The ancient Romans worshiped a fever goddess, three demons rolled into one.

The connection between malaria and swamps was known even in antiquity and the evil spirits or malaria gods were believed to live within the marshes. Indeed, malaria could be said to be as ancient as the earth itself because the parasites spread and follow man anywhere he has pitched a tent to live.

The 2010 South Africa World Cup football tournament was one with a difference.
As people all over the world waited with bated breath for the ultimate winner of the much coveted gold cup in the South Africa 2010 World Cup football tournament, it was also a call for action to kick out malaria from the continent.

The persistent shout throughout the tournament  “this is our time”, was a call to take up arms across the continent against malaria and reach out to the millions of spectators and football fans as well as governments to accept the message to roll back the deadly disease through the appropriate utilization of prevention tools such as bed nets and anti-malarials.