On the occasion of World Malaria Day 2013, the Swiss Malaria Group announce the winners of the photo contest “Malaria: The Big Picture”. The online photo contest and subsequent exhibition was organised by the Swiss Malaria Group to highlight the reality of those living at risk of malaria and the work of those dedicated to changing that reality.
[Click here to view the winning photos from each category][Français] [Deutsch]
Since 2000, thanks to the scale-up of malaria control measures, such as bed nets, insecticide spraying, diagnosis and effective medicines, the world has made major progress in reducing suffering and death associated with malaria. Many countries have been able to eliminate the disease from their borders. Endemic countries are making the commitment to control and eliminate malaria, and new tools and approaches are being developed to support this work. For the first time in history, defeating the disease altogether is within reach.
The fight against malaria has been one of our best investments in global health to date. Yet, these recent gains are increasingly threatened by a shortfall in funding. It is critically important that we pool all possible resources to stay the course, as malaria resurgence will remain a persistent threat until the disease is eradicated altogether.
To celebrate the gains and highlight the critical need to maintain the momentum, between 15 February and 24 March, photographers from around the world submitted more than 700 photos in three categories (people, healthcare & control, and research & development) to the contest. The public were then invited to vote before 7 April to determine a shortlist and the final winners were chosen by an international panel of judges.
First-place winners, selected by the judges, will receive a new Fuji camera and CHF 400 in cash. Runners-up, in second to fifth place, will receive one of a series of cash prizes: 2nd: CHF 400; 3rd: CHF 300; 4th: CHF 200; 5th: CHF 100.
“The competition is one of the strongest I have seen,” said David Burnett, one of the contest’s judges and three times World Press Photo jury member. “There is a wonderful combination of ‘reportage’ and portraits, and together they provide a very impressive selection of photographs highlighting the efforts to help people in malaria-infested locations. I’m happy to have been involved in judging; it’s really important to support photographers who are telling stories about malaria and bringing the issues of prevention and treatment into the public eye.”
“The Swiss Malaria Group thanks Fuji Switzerland for their generous donation of three cameras as first prizes, the fifteen organisations that provided their promotional support and our expert jury panel for their selection,” said Dr Thomas Teuscher of Roll Back Malaria. “We hope that the contest will not only raise awareness about malaria but encourage other organisations to join the group and make it even stronger in the years to come.”
“Photos have the ability to open the door on a world never seen before,” Gerhard Siegfried, Head of East and Southern Africa Division of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. “Photos submitted to the contest have not only opened that door to malaria but have also allowed us to step through and see the bigger picture; the victims of malaria, the tools and interventions that can save them from the disease and the people working to develop those tools. I invite you to see the big picture for yourself.”
The Swiss Malaria Group will mark World Malaria Day 2013 and announce the winners at 18h00, 22 April 2013 at the Malaria Vaccines for the World conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the winning photos will be displayed. The winners and runners-up can also be viewed via the online exhibition from 22 April 2013.
Congratulations to our winners, which are as follows:
Category 1: People
1st: Dimple Pancholi: ‘Untitled’
2nd: Somenath Mukhopadhyay: ‘Look beyond’
3rd: Rabin Chakrabarti: ‘Preventing mosquito bites’
4th: Allan Jay Quesada: ‘Poverty and malaria risks’
5th: Fabian Biasio: ‘Children jumping into the water’
Category 2: Health care and control
1st: Sandipan Majumdar: ‘Malaria prevention’
2nd: Andre Laas: ‘The art of war’
3rd: Matthieu Zellweger: ‘Unpacking the net’
4th: Sarah Hoibak: ‘Spaceman? No, vector-man!’
5th: Oliver Lassen: ‘Two for one’
Category 3: Research and development
1st: Jennifer Jackson: ‘Bloodsuckers’
2nd: Konstantin Ikonomidis: ‘Thermal (un)comfort of a bed net’
3rd: Quique Bassat: ‘Looking for a patient’s missing file’
4th: Andre Laas: ‘Know the enemy’
5th: Ken Mwai: ‘See it large, see it minute’
Click here for more details about malaria, the fight to defeat it, and the winning photos
About the Swiss Malaria Group
Founded in 2007, the Swiss Malaria Group (SMG) comprises 17 organisations based in Switzerland, working to develop and deliver new tools to tackle malaria. By joining forces, the organisations are stronger and more effective. The goal is to raise awareness about the devastation wreaked by malaria and the work of Switzerland and other countries to defeat it. Synergies between the members contribute to the decline of malaria cases around the world through innovative control measures, knowledge and financial flows.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation leads the group, which includes:
• Acino Pharma AG
• Biovision
• Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois
• Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative
• Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics
• Medicines for Malaria Venture
• Medicus Mundi Schweiz
• Novartis
• Novartis Foundation for sustainable development
• Roll Back Malaria
• Swiss Malaria Foundation
• SoildarMed
• Swiss Red Cross
• Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute
• Syngenta
• Vestergaard Frandsen
For more information about the SMG, please contact:
Susanna Hausmann
Email: susanna.hausmann@deza.admin.ch
Tel: 031 322 38 37
Mob: 076 579 99 65
For more information about the contest, please contact:
Elizabeth Poll
Email: polle@mmv.org
Tel: +41 22 799 45 81
Mob: +41 79 907 59 92
