Thaindian News

London, Aug 15 (ANI): Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole is helping a charity in Africa in its fight against the deadly disease malaria.

She is to become a charity ambassador and will help fight against malaria in the poorest parts of Africa.

The X Factor judge has promised to battle with the killer disease that almost took her own life.

Cheryl spent 11 days in hospital after she was diagnosed with malaria that she caught during a vacation with boyfriend Derek Hough in Tanzania.

And now she wants to make people aware of the disease that causes 3,000 preventable deaths in Africa every day.

The 27-year-old singer’s first mission will be to Uganda after she finishes the forthcoming series of X Factor. She will meet the families of malaria victims and champion the cause of children whose lives could be transformed by the provision of simple 5-pound anti-malaria mosquito nets.

She will tour remote medical centres which distribute precious medicine to curb the disease, which continues to ravage Africa, leaving families torn apart and children orphaned.

“It is a very brave decision. Cheryl has thought long and hard about it. This is a life-changing, landmark experience for her. She’s seen how malaria ­destroys people’s lives and now has first-hand knowledge of just how serious it is. Cheryl got the best care possible when she got back from Tanzania and she is very grateful for it. But she is aware that millions of Africans are not so lucky,” The Mirror quoted a friend of Cheryl as saying.

“After what she has been through, you might have thought Africa was the last place she’d be wanting to go to. But the reverse is true. She wants to get out there as soon as the X Factor has been wrapped up,” the friend added. (ANI)