What's happening at Praekelt Foundation...
On 25 April 2010, World Malaria Day, MTN launched an interactive quiz with the aim of educating South Africans on Malaria, how to prevent it and what symptoms to be aware of. MTN launched this campaign in partnership with the Praekelt Foundation and the Medical Research Council of South Africa.
Malaria remains one of the biggest killers in Africa, and as an official sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, mobile operator, MTN is supporting one of FIFA's main Corporate Social Investment initiatives for the world cup, the World Malaria Campaign.
The quiz ran on a text-menu number, and was advertised via MTN-donated "Please Call Me" messages, into which a message was included that asked the public to test their knowledge on malaria and learn how to protect themselves against it. Receivers of these branded "Please Call Me" messages could then dial a *120 number, which lead them into the malaria quiz. The quiz could be taken in English or Zulu, and consisted of four quiz questions. Knowledge about malaria was transferred by confirming correct answers and correcting wrong answers.
The quiz achieved tremendous results. In only 8 days, over 91,000 unique people took the malaria quiz, and a total of 174,688 sessions were achieved.
For more information on malaria in South Africa, kindly visit www.malaria.org.za.