Blog Contest Offers Graduate Students the Chance to Win a Trip to Zambia

Malaria No More and Novartis Host Contest in U.S. and Six Other Countries

NEW YORK, May 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Three students will win a trip to Africa through the social media contest "World Briefing: Telling the Malaria Story" co-sponsored by Malaria No More and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. The contest is open to graduate students in the United States, Ecuador, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Philippines and Venezuela via the contest Web site www.WorldBriefing.org.

It is easy for graduate students to enter the contest. Requirements include a 500-word blog post focused on malaria and how their generation can make progress in the fight against this deadly disease, as well as a 140-character sentence (the length of a Twitter update) on why they should win. Students must submit contest applications to Enter@MalariaContest.com by 11:59 PM EST on Monday, May 31, 2010, to be considered to win a trip to Zambia.

The three winners will be announced during the week of June 28, 2010 and will travel with the Novartis team to Zambia in October 2010. Zambia has reduced malaria deaths by 66% in recent years, offering students an excellent opportunity to study how African countries are defeating malaria in their homes, communities and hospitals through the use of lifesaving prevention and treatment tools. In Zambia, the students will learn about current efforts underway to control malaria, travel to local clinics as well as meet with physicians, healthcare workers, patients, and leaders from the Novartis Malaria Initiatives team and Malaria No More. Throughout the trip, the winners will blog live about their experiences, and post updates on Facebook and Twitter.

From June 12 to June 26, 2010, the top six submissions – two from each region – will be posted to the Malaria No More contest Web site, www.WorldBriefing.org, for the public to read and vote for their favorite entries. Expert judges from across the globe will also help determine the three winners. Please see information on all judges and contest guidelines at www.WorldBriefing.org.

About Malaria No More

Malaria No More is determined to end malaria deaths in Africa—and we're helping the world get it done. Malaria No More leverages high-impact communications to engage the world, global advocacy to rally leadership and strategic investments to accelerate progress. For more information, visit www.MalariaNoMore.org, read our Buzzwords blog, fan our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.

About Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation

Novartis provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Focused solely on healthcare, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines, diagnostic tools and consumer health products. Novartis is the only company with leading positions in these areas. In 2009, the Group's continuing operations achieved net sales of USD 44.3 billion, while approximately USD 7.5 billion was invested in R&D activities throughout the Group. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ approximately 100,000 full-time-equivalent associates and operate in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.Novartis.com.

CONTACT: Erica Lichtenberger, +1-212-710-5891 or +1-917-892-5962, Erica@MalariaNoMore.org

SOURCE Malaria No More