David Beckham Stars Alongside Teen Climate Activist in Zero Malaria Campaign

David Beckham and 13-year-old climate and health champion Ellyanne Wanjiku Chlystun star in the new campaign film, ‘Change the Story’, for Zero Malaria. 

Launched to coincide with COP28, the film is part of a wider global campaign focused on changing the story for millions of children around the world and ensuring that their futures are free from the threat of malaria. 

Set in the iconic Earth Sciences Library in the Natural History Museum in London, the short film tells the story of how changing weather patterns are making malaria harder to predict and control, and the impact this is having on children around the world.

Children are most affected by malaria and bear the brunt of the impact that changing weather patterns are having on the disease. Yet children’s voices too often go unheard. The film sits at the heart of the Zero Malaria: Change the Story campaign, which is placing children’s stories from some of the countries most affected by malaria at the heart of the campaign, all united by the shared goal of ending malaria within a generation.  

Produced by Black Dog Films and directed by Meji Alabi with illustration and animation from Alice Bloomfield, and support from dentsu Africa, ‘Change the Story’ calls on leaders to listen and make decisions that will save millions of children’s lives.

Meji Alabi, director at Black Dog Films said, “Zero Malaria: Change the Story is a passion project for me. Being Nigerian, I’ve lost friends, family and many people close to me as a result of malaria, and I have seen that children are the ones suffering the most. We can all play our part in the fight against the deadly disease – for me, it’s amplifying the voices of young people, who will be the generation to end malaria, through art and creativity”.  

David Beckham, said, “I’m proud to be supporting the Zero Malaria: Change the Story campaign, shining a light on the voices of children. The heartbreaking reality is that a child dies every minute from malaria. Children want a future that is free from deadly diseases like malaria. We owe it to them to build a stronger, safer, more resilient world.”