BANGKOK, THAILAND (July 23, 2011) – Right To Play Athlete Ambassador and world famous Chelsea Football Club striker, Didier Drogba, joined Right To Play in Bangkok Saturday to further the fight against malaria in Thailand and Africa.  

Right To Play, the official global charity partner of the English Premier League soccer squad, has joined forces with Chelsea and Vestergaard Frandsen, manufacturers of PermaNet, to produce a series of insecticidal bed nets featuring images of the striker on the fabric.

“I’m one of the lucky ones, I survived malaria but every year hundreds of thousands of people don’t,” Drogba told a group gathered for the unveiling at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, where Chelsea is currently on a pre-season tour. 

“Malaria can be prevented just by sleeping under a net and if these new nets get more kids and their families to do that then we can actually save lives. This campaign shows how easy it can be.”

Vestergaard and Chelsea will be donating 2,000 of the life-saving nets to Right To Play’s Burmese refugee programs in camps located along the Thai border.

In Thailand, despite a reduction in the number of cases and deaths, around 32 million people remain at risk of malaria with 31,771 confirmed cases in 2009.

Replicating posters on a bedroom wall, the nets feature an action shot of Drogba on the pitch.  It is hoped that by featuring pictures of the star, younger children will be encouraged to sleep under the insecticide-infused nets.
Initially, more than 9,000 of the nets will be produced for distribution in Thailand and Africa.  A donation of 500 nets is earmarked for use in the hospital recently built by the Drogba Foundation in the footballer’s hometown of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Malaria affects half of the world’s population, causing more than 750,000 deaths per year.  Responsible for one-in-six child deaths, the infectious disease claims the life of a child every 45 seconds.

To learn more about Right To Play Thailand and how Right To Play is working to prevent and combat malaria through its programs, please visit www.righttoplay.com

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