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Stakeholders in the campaign against malaria on Wednesday met in Accra to commit themselves to a new global partnership programme dubbed �United Against Malaria� (UMA) to champion the cause for malaria eradication in the country. The UMA would use soccer, the most popular sports, to build the political and popular will needed to save the more than one million malaria deaths that occur in Africa, and which account for 12 billion dollars loss in the continent�s Gross Domestic Product. The stakeholders included the Ministries of Health, Tourism, Youth and Employment, Local Government and Rural Development, Ghana Football Association (GFA), National Malaria Control Programme, MTN Ghana Foundation, and media personnel, among others. At the forum organized by the Johns Hopkins University Voices For Malaria Free Future, Mr Emmanuel Fiagbey, Country Director of the Voices, explained that the UAM would galvanize partners to reach the United Nations target of universal access to treated mosquito nets and malaria medicine in Africa by the end of 2010. The initiative, he said, would also accelerate efforts to meet the international target of reducing malaria to zero deaths by 2015, by seeking partners to offer their support for the campaign before and during the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa. In Ghana, Mr Fiagbey explained, the UAM would also work closely with the GFA and use renown football players and their teams to use the football fever to support the fight against the pandemic, whiles strengthening the commitment of donor countries to increase malaria programming and funding. He hinted that the initiative would also take advantage of some special events and festivities to draw public attention to the disease, and called for further cooperation among the stakeholders to make the programme a success. Dr George Sipa-Yankey, Minister of Health, reiterated government�s commitment to eradicate malaria infections and applauded the commitment of the partners to help achieve this feat. He said malaria remained a bane on the country�s development effort, depriving Ghana of 760 million dollars of Gross Domestic Product annually, and stressed the need for collective effort to reverse the trend. Mrs Juliana Azumah Mensah, Minister of Tourism, also indicated that the pandemic was a threat to Ghana�s tourism sector, which was the third foreign exchange earner, adding that �high malaria cases could scare away tourists�. She also pledged the Ministry�s support to ensure that the country enjoyed a malaria free environment, and appealed to operators in the tourism sector, especially the hospitality service providers, to also support the campaign in order to safeguard their investment. Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi, GFA President, also pledged the support of the Association to lead the campaign.