Officials at a British charity are “absolutely shocked” CHERYL COLE has contracted malaria – after the singer scaled Mount Kilimanjaro to raise aw areness of the need for mosquito nets in Africa.
The Girls Aloud singer has been in hospital in the U.K. since she was d iagnosed with the potentially deadly disease earlier this month (Jul10) a fter collapsing at a photoshoot.
She is believed to have contracted the mosquito-borne illness during a trip to Tanzania with dancer Derek Hough last month (Jun10).
But bosses at Britain’s Comic Relief organisation are in disbelief that Cole – also known by her maiden name Cheryl Tweedy – is suffering from t he disease after she took part in the African climb last year (09) to rai se cash to buy mosquito nets in the country.
In a statement, they say, “When news reached us that our good friend Cheryl Tweedy had contracted malaria last week, we were absolutely shocked.
It’s only a short time ago that she, along with eight of her celebrity f riends, completed a gruelling physical challenge to raise money for Comic Relief to buy and distribute malaria nets – the first step in preventing families and children in Africa from contracting this deadly disease.
“Cheryl did an amazing thing when she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro last year, and she knows what a devastating effect malaria can have on anyone who catches it – especially for those children and families living in poor countries where they have no access to healthcare.
“Thanks to Cheryl and the team’s huge fundraising efforts, Comic Relief has been able to distribute thousands of malaria nets, helping to save l ives and prevent many children from contracting the disease. We wish Cheryl a very speedy recovery.” Cole took part in the climb with a string of other stars, including ban dmate Kimberley Walsh, Gary Barlow and Boyzone’s Ronan Keating, and helped raise $2.1 million