Press Releases

May 2008

School child wins national sticker competition

There was a huge buzz across the UK as people voted in their thousands to push Beth Cameron, age 11, from Gullane Primary School, over the finishing line in a national competition to design the official logo for Malaria Awareness Week 2008 (12-18 May).

Beth's imaginative design has now been made into thousands of stickers and distributed to GP surgeries, travel clinics and pharmacies across the country. The sticker will be used to raise awareness of malaria amongst UK travellers. Around 2,000 British holiday-makers return home with the disease every year and on average nine people die.

After swatting away stiff competition to become the regional champion and overall competition winner, Beth won a custom trophy and received £2,000 for her whole class to spend on a cool class trip or put towards other fun educational activities or equipment.

'I am so excited that my design is going to be used as the official logo for Malaria Awareness Week. I would also like to thank everyone in Scotland who voted for me, as I worked really hard on my design and am so pleased that so many people liked it,' said Beth.

Beth's name will appear in the June issue of National Geographic Kid's magazine, while a complete interview and picture will appear online at: www.malariahotspots.co.uk and www.ngkids.co.uk

Steve Backshall, kids TV presenter and explorer, is fronting the campaign this year. Steve contracted malaria while on an expedition and is keen to teach children and their families how they can ‘bite back’ at the disease, by being more aware of the easy ways they can stay safe when travelling.

Steve says: 'The effects of malaria can be particularly severe in children and there has been a massive spike in the number of British travellers visiting malaria-risk destinations. So, it’s never been more important for the whole family to be aware of the risks and ways to protect themselves from this potentially deadly – yet preventable – disease.'

The last ten years have seen a nearly 200% increase in travel to malaria-risk destinations like Africa and Southeast Asia, by British travellers¹.

Since malaria hotspots may change over time, the Malaria Awareness Campaign advises all travellers to get up-to-date advice before every single trip – even if you are returning to a destination you’ve already visited. They also recommend visiting your GP, practice nurse or travel clinic – ideally six to eight weeks before travel – to get the best advice.

To find out if you’re travelling to a malaria hotspot, text the country you’re visiting to 07800 000 571 or visit www.malariahotspots.co.uk. While you're there don't forget to check out all of the finalists' entries.

Photo opportunities of the winner and her winning design may be available.

Contact us to set up a photocall (See contact details below).

For more information, please contact Beattie Communications on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline:
Zita Stockbridge : 0207 053 6018 / zita.stockbridge@beattiegroup.com
Kiren Ali: 0207 053 6012 / kiren.ali@beattiegroup.com
Meredith Pearson: 0207 053 6004 / meredith.pearson@beattiegroup.com

Notes to editors:

1. Steve Backshall is a British naturist, writer and television presenter, notably on CBBC’s The Really Wild Show, National Geographic’s EarthPulse and the Discovery/BBC Expedition series. He is also an author with Rough Guides. Steve contracted malaria while travelling in the Southeast Asian island of Borneo.
2. Additional information including case studies and fact boxes are available if you are interested in running a malaria awareness feature.
3. The Malaria Awareness Campaign is sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline Travel Health and supported by a leading panel of healthcare professionals, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). The campaign aims to educate UK travellers about the risk of malaria and encourages them to seek expert medical advice before their journey.

¹Office for National Statistics, International Passenger Survey, 1996, 2006

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