Announcements: World Malaria Day --- April 25, 2011

Announcements: World Malaria Day --- April 25, 2011
Weekly
April 22, 2011 / 60(15);481




World Malaria Day is commemorated on April 25, the date in 2000 when 44 African leaders met in Abuja, Nigeria, and signed the Abuja Declaration, committing their countries to cutting malaria deaths in half by 2010. In the decade since, increased funding and efforts have led to a scale-up of effective malaria interventions in many countries. In 2009, malaria caused an estimated 781,000 deaths worldwide, down from an estimated 985,000 in 2000. In 32 of the 56 malaria-endemic countries outside Africa, the number of confirmed malaria cases declined more than 50%. By 2010, 11 countries and one area in the World Health Organization's African Region showed a reduction of more than 50% in confirmed malaria cases or admissions and deaths (1).

The theme of World Malaria Day, "Achieving Progress and Impact," highlights the successes worldwide and provides an opportunity to take stock of the current state of malaria globally and to consider how to achieve the U.N Secretary-General's goal of near zero deaths by 2015. CDC contributes to these efforts through the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), a U.S. government interagency initiative to reduce malaria in 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Greater Mekong subregion in Asia. PMI is led by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and is implemented by USAID and CDC, in collaboration with host ministries of health and local and international partners.

CDC also conducts multidisciplinary strategic and applied research globally to better understand malaria and develop safe, effective interventions that can lead to malaria's elimination and eventual eradication. Additional information regarding CDC's malaria activities is available at http://www.cdc.gov/malaria.

Reference
1.World Health Organization. World malaria report 2010. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2010. Available at
http://www.who.int/malaria/world_malaria_report_2010/en/index.html. Accessed April 18, 2011.

Announcements: World Malaria Day --- April 25, 2011