Daniel Martin, 15, from Bolton has been named the winner of a national competition to design the official logo for Malaria Awareness Week 2009 (11-17 May).
After swatting away stiff competition from hundreds of entries, Daniel has won a trophy along with 's163;2,000 for his class to spend on fun educational activities or equipment.
A massive buzz was created across the UK as people voted in their thousands for the winning logo. Daniel'ss 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.
Daniel says: 'sI'sm really excited that my design is going to be used as the official logo for Malaria Awareness Week. I would like to thank everyone in Bolton who voted for me, as I
worked really hard on my design and am so pleased that so many people liked it.'s
Daniel'ss story appears in the 8 May issue of First News newspaper and will also appear online at www.malariahotspots.co.uk and www.firstnews.co.uk.
Kate Humble, wildlife expert and TV presenter, fronted the competition this year, run by the Malaria Awareness Campaign. Kate has contracted malaria twice, both times while travelling in
Africa and is keen to teach children and their families how they can prevent the disease, by being more aware of the easy steps they can take to stay safe when travelling.
Kate says: 'sThe 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. It'ss
never been more important for families to be aware of the risks and ways to protect themselves from this potentially deadly - yet preventable - disease.'s
It is a fact that between 1,500 - 2,000 British holiday-makers return home with the disease every year and on average nine of these people will die.
As 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'sve 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'sre travelling to a malaria hotspot, text the country you'sre visiting to 07800 000 571 or visit www.malariahotspots.co.uk. While you'sre there don'st forget to check out all of the finalists's entries.