The World Cup is in full swing and although the only remaining African team was knocked out by the most blatant display of poor sportsmanship I think I've ever seen, it's still the most popular event on TV and one of the main topics of conservation here in Blantyre. For many Malawians, the World Cup may be the only TV event that they  have seen in a few months and they may not see another TV event for a while ("exciting" is not a word I'd use to describe the regularly scheduled programming on Malawi's only TV station).  Public health officials are taking full advantage of this situation and a constant feature of the broadcasts is a small band of text at the bottom of the screen encouraging the viewers to use the mosquito nets and visit the health clinics if they suspect that they or a family member might have malaria.  To drive the point home, the half-time analysts usually wear shirts with the local "Roll Back Malaria" logo.

Malaria is a major problem in Malawi - it's not uncommon for a child to suffer from the disease 4-5 times in a single year and it is one of the leading causes of mortality in children under 5.  Although there are some effective preventive measures and treatments available, people must visit a clinic before they take advantage of them.  Visiting a clinic can be expensive - the visit itself is free, but the wait can be as long as 8 hours to see a doctor, and if you have to wait that long that means missing out on a day of work.

One small problem with this campaign is that the notices are only in English.  Although all Malawians learn English in school, it's certainly possible that these messages would reach more people if they were also presented in Chichewa, the dominant native language. Other than this small quibble, I think it's great that officials are using the World Cup as an opportunity to bring important public health messages to as many people as possible.

The World Cup starts in South Africa this weekend, and excitement is building, especially here in Africa.  As if that weren't enough, qualifications are in progress for the African Nations Championship and soccer fever is in full swing here.  This fever is somewhat infectious, so when Angola played Malawi over the weekend here in Blantyre we jumped at the chance to get tickets and see the game.  Seating was sold by three levels: open seating (no overhead protection from the sun and the rain), covered seating (you get to sit in the shade), and "VIP" seating (you also sit in the shade, but I think you are closer to the field).  The weather was nice, so we decided on open seating (the fact that we are cheap may also have influenced this decision). 

The stadium itself is a rather precarious concrete structure which looks as if collapse is a real possibility, but it's a very nice venue to watch a game - the open seating means that you can sit as close to the centerline as you dare (the rowdier locals, many of whom consume prodigious amounts of ethanol before entering the stadium, tend to prefer these seats as well) and the seats are close enough to the field where even the nosebleeds can get a good sense of the game.  Getting into the stadium is an experience in itself, and the vendors who set up shop outside sell everything from coke to candy to small roasted birds on a stick (if you're feeling adventurous you can buy roasted mice with the fur intact).  We arrived a bit later than planned and sat close to one of the goal lines, but our seats were right next to the stairs leading up the bleachers.  This placement led to us "befriending" many of the aforementioned locals, who were shocked to see an azungu (friendlyish word for whitey) in the stands (not all too surprising, given that we one of 15, and 8 of them chose the more expensive seats). 

The game itself was interesting - Angola's players seemed to suffer from a spate of sudden injuries during Malawi's drives for the goal, although thankfully these injuries resolved themselves rapidly after play had stopped and they had been taken to the sideline.  The first half saw the most excitement when Angola scored 2 goals within 5 minutes, and Malawi couldn't catch up in the second half.  Although Malawi lost, where else can you watch two national teams play each other for less than $2.00?