Timed to the ongoing COP28 climate conference in Dubai, Dentsu has supported the launch of a new campaign Zero Malaria: Change the Story.  

The campaign calls on leaders attending COP28 to recognize the impact that climate change and extreme weather events are having on malaria. It asks governments to bolster health systems and malaria programs so that they are resilient in the face of changing climates and able to rapidly respond to extreme weather events. 

Children are most affected by malaria and the campaign places children’s stories from some of the countries most affected by malaria, such as Mozambique and Pakistan, at the heart of the campaign. 

Launching the campaign is a new film titled Change the Story. Directed by Grammy award-winning director Meji Alabi, the film features Kenyan climate finance and health champion Ellyanne Wanjiku Chlystun, and longstanding Zero Malaria ambassador and child rights advocate David Beckham. The film tells the story of how changing weather is making malaria harder to predict and control, and the impact this is having on children around the world. 

Zero Malaria: Change the Story brings together a coalition of partners from the global community fighting malaria including the World Health Organization, the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance Secretariat (APLMA), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and others. Dentsu has been providing services to the effort under a five-year pro bono partnership.  

The creative strategy and media planning was led by Dentsu Sub-Saharan Africa with dentsu teams around the world collaborating to drive media planning across malaria endemic markets including Kenya, Brazil, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, DRC and Zambia, as well as target donor markets including UAE, Japan and France, securing approximately $500,000 worth of free media space to date.  

The campaign also features illustrations and messages of hope from children all over the world, to inspire action amongst funders and policymakers.  

Dawn Rowlands, Chief Executive Officer, Dentsu Sub Saharan Africa, said: "Over 90% of malaria deaths happen in Sub-Saharan Africa, and this disproportionately impacts children. Whilst good progress has been made, more needs to be done.”