From momentum to movement: Advancing malaria advocacy through storytelling

Eliminating malaria is not only a scientific and public health challenge, it is also a human one. Every breakthrough, every innovation and every political commitment only achieves its full potential when people understand why it matters, see themselves as part of the solution, and are inspired to act. Creating that connection requires more than information; it requires stories that resonate, trusted voices that can inspire action, and moments that bring communities together around a shared purpose.

At Speak Up Africa, we believe that storytelling is one of the most powerful tools for accelerating progress towards malaria elimination. By translating science into accessible narratives, elevating African leadership and harnessing the influence of sport, culture and youth, we are helping build a movement that reaches beyond the health sector and into everyday conversations. Whether through political advocacy, community engagement or digital campaigns, our objective remains the same: to transform awareness into action and action into lasting impact.

This approach has been at the heart of Speak Up Africa’s advocacy throughout 2026. During World Malaria Day in Benin, high-level advocacy was combined with community mobilization, youth engagement and storytelling to reach 5.25 million people, convene more than 1,050 participants across five events, activate 84 champions, and generate 594 media pick-ups across priority countries. Beyond these achievements, the campaign empowered a new generation of storytellers through our Storytelling Lab, enabling young creators from Benin and Senegal to transform the findings of A Big Push Against Malaria in the Francophone World report into compelling, locally relevant stories that inspired dialogue and action. This momentum continued through Speak Up Africa’s collaboration with Benin’s National Malaria Control Program (NMCP), where digital storytelling and community engagement were leveraged to amplify malaria prevention messages, demonstrating how strong partnerships can translate national priorities into locally driven action. By strengthening the capacity of creators as trusted public health communicators, the initiative reinforced the power of storytelling to translate scientific evidence into engaging narratives that resonate with communities and inspire action.

The Zero Malaria FC digital activation during the World Cup marked an important milestone in this journey. More than a digital campaign, it demonstrated how sport can serve as a powerful entry point to conversations about health, translating complex scientific progress into stories that resonate with millions of people. By uniting football legends, scientists, artists, policymakers and young advocates around a shared narrative, the campaign helped make malaria innovation more visible, celebrated African leadership, and showed that global sporting moments can become powerful platforms for public engagement and advocacy. The campaign mobilized 15 influential champions representing an audience of nearly 10 million people, engaged 14 global organizations, connected partners across 16 countries, and generated an estimated 1.07 million digital reach through 123 online mentions, illustrating the scale of engagement that intentional storytelling can achieve.

Another key lesson from these campaigns has been the growing role of content creators as trusted voices for public health. In today’s digital landscape, content creators are often the bridge between scientific evidence and the communities it is intended to reach. Recognizing this, Speak Up Africa has increasingly invested not only in collaborating with content creators during high-profile advocacy moments, but also in strengthening their understanding of malaria, scientific innovation and effective health communication. Through dedicated capacity-building initiatives, storytelling labs, community visits and sustained engagement, content creators are equipped to produce accurate, compelling and culturally relevant content that continues to inform and inspire audiences long after a campaign has ended. This long-term collaboration helps build a growing community of informed storytellers who become lasting partners in advancing malaria advocacy, ensuring that awareness is translated into sustained public engagement and support for malaria elimination.

Building on these successes, Speak Up Africa in Action now provides the platform to sustain and expand this approach beyond a single campaign or sporting event. First introduced during the Africa Cup of Nations tournament (AFCON) in January 2026, the initiative reflects Speak Up Africa’s long-term vision of leveraging major African and global sporting moments to amplify African voices, celebrate scientific progress and mobilize communities around malaria elimination.

The Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games represent the next major milestone in that journey. Bringing together young creators, athletes, scientists, policymakers and community champions, Speak Up Africa in Action will harness the unique energy of Africa’s first Olympic event to produce intentional, evidence-based content that inspires action and strengthens youth engagement. By building on the foundations established through World Malaria Day and the Zero Malaria FC campaign during the World Cup, the initiative will continue transforming sport into a catalyst for advocacy, ensuring that malaria remains part of the conversations, partnerships and movements shaping Africa’s future.