Zero Malaria Next Play: Mobilizing sports and youth communities against malaria during the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games

Senegal is hosting the Youth Olympic Games, the first ever Olympic event to take place on the African continent.

Building on this momentum, the RBM Partnership to End Malaria Speak Up Africa, The Global Fund Advocates Network, Target Malaria and I AM Foundation partnered around “Zero Malaria Next Play”, an advocacy campaign seeking to empower a new generation of African voices to champion malaria elimination, strengthen youth engagement and build momentum for the political commitment and investment to end malaria in Africa.

We decided to call this campaign “Zero Malaria Next Play” to build on the decade long campaign “Zero Malaria Starts With Me” that was designed by Speak Up Africa. In sport, the next play is the move that can change the course of the game. In the fight against malaria, it is the next policy, the next scientific breakthrough, the next investment, and the next generation of advocates that will bring us closer to elimination.

Zero Malaria Next Play combines digital advocacy with community engagement to amplify African innovation and mobilise a new generation against malaria. The campaign’s art direction celebrates sports, movement, street art, and youth. Analogies around categories of sports (such as net sports, team sports, endurance) serve to create a call to action for malaria elimination.

The campaign also harnesses the reach of sport to bring malaria advocacy closer to young people and communities.  No region is more affected by malaria than Africa, which accounts for 94% of cases and 95% of deaths worldwide.

Available in English and French, “Zero Malaria Next Play” features social media cards inspired by Olympic sports and key messages to encourage the public to get involved in prevention efforts and give more visibility to a disease which greatly impacts the health of millions of people from malaria endemic countries. 

Stemming from a French initiative, “Team Zéro Palu”, at the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Games, “Zero Malaria Next Play” aims at creating bridges between sports, athletics and youth. After a successful launch at the FIFA World Cup in July 2026, and a second campaign at the Youth Olympics Games of Dakar, the Next Play movement will continue its journey to the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) of 2027, co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. From France, USA, Canada, Mexico, Senegal and soon Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, the malaria community is turning major sports events into platforms to inspire greater public engagement and build sustained political and financial support for malaria elimination.