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UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Lang Lang visits Tanzania to raise awareness on malaria

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Lang Lang (centre), welcomed by a group of children in the village of Mkuza in the eastern district of Kibaha, Tanzania. Lang Lang is wearing traditional Tanzanian garments he has received during his visit to the village.

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DAR ES SALAAM, 3 August 2004 - UNICEF's newest Goodwill Ambassador, the young Chinese pianist Lang Lang, spoke today of the need to accelerate action in controlling the spread of malaria and other childhood diseases.

Welcomed to the village of Mkuza by a crowd of roughly 400 people consisting of mostly women and children, Lang Lang was deeply moved. "I am so happy to be here..This is my first trip to Africa and I am so proud that Tanzania is my first trip. Today I am so touched by you and it's a very emotional experience for me," said Lang Lang. "I have recently learned about the problems caused by malaria and I know it is a very serious issue."

On the first day of his maiden visit as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Lang Lang personally witnessed the many efforts being made by the Government of Tanzania, along with UNICEF and other partners in the fight against malaria.

Malaria kills some 3,000 African children every day; 200 of them are Tanzanian. If used properly, insecticide-treated mosquito nets could result in the survival of 500,000 children every year. In Tanzania, the government has gone to great lengths to ensure that insecticide-treated nets are made available in villages in sufficient quantities, thereby reducing the spread of the disease. Through a voucher scheme which subsidies the cost of the nets, families are now able to buy a net for less than USD$1. This initiative is expected to reduce child mortality by at least 20 per cent.

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Lang Lang (left) sits with a woman and her baby boy in front of an insecticide-treated mosquito net. UNICEF is supporting the use of insecticide-treated nets as part of malaria control activities.

In Mkuza village, Lang Lang took time to visit the household of a young mother, Mariam Hamisi, and her one-year-old child, Abdullah. In her small one-bedroom house, she told Lang Lang about the advantages of using insecticide-treated nets and how the voucher system helped alleviate many of the communities' health problems. Tanzania was the first African country to withdraw taxes on netting material, which has helped in disseminating them. Lang Lang also got a chance to visit a local retailer in the area who sells the nets.

"It is totally unacceptable that 200 children in Tanzania are dying from malaria every day. It is such a serious disease," said Lang Lang.

Lang Lang will travel to the north of Tanzania, then onto Zanzibar, where he hopes to see further results in the promotion of insecticide-treated nets.

Lang Lang was appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in May 2004 at the young age of 21. He is regarded as one of the most exciting pianists of our time.

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