Cheryl Cole has opened up about her battle with malaria four years ago in a video to raise awareness about the disease for Sport Relief.
The singer revealed that at one point she was given only 24 hours to live after contracting the disease during a trip to Tanzania.
Cheryl Cole
"When I climbed Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief five years ago it was honestly one of the hardest things I’ve ever done," recalls Cheryl in a video that will be broadcast during the live Sport Relief show on Friday 21 March.
"The motivation lay in knowing it could help in eradicating malaria and ultimately saving lives by providing mosquito nets.
"I didn’t for one minute think that only a year later I would get malaria myself and become so ill that at one point I was given 24 hours to live.
"It was the scariest thing you could ever imagine for me and for my friends and family. The pain I felt and went through, it’s what so many people go through, all because they don’t have a mosquito net which could save their life.
"I was lucky; I had the best care I could get. Some people are not so lucky. A £5 mosquito net could keep a child safe and really does help."
This year's Sport Relief will see presenters Gary Lineker, David Walliams, Davina McCall, Claudia Winkleman, Jack Whitehall and Fearne Cotton hosting a star-studded show including comedy sketches, performances and highlights from this year’s challenges.
The action kicks off on BBC1 from 7pm on Friday 21 March and will be hosted live from London’s Olympic Park.
Find out how you can help at the Official Sport Relief website
