Announcement: World Malaria Day --- April 25, 2010

Announcement: World Malaria Day --- April 25, 2010
Weekly
April 23, 2010 / 59(15);460


Counting Malaria Out is the theme of this year's World Malaria Day, commemorated on April 25. Worldwide, malaria causes an estimated 1 million deaths each year. Nearly 90% of these deaths occur among young children in Africa (1).

Counting Malaria Out also is the theme of a campaign to further reduce malaria worldwide. The Roll Back Malaria Partnership is a global framework for coordinated action against malaria founded by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme. It encourages malaria-endemic countries, Roll Back Malaria partners, and donors to put extra efforts into achieving universal coverage with malaria interventions by 2010, near-zero deaths by 2015, and the eventual elimination of malaria (2). Since 2000, when 44 African leaders committed their countries to cutting malaria deaths in half by 2010, increasing resources have boosted malaria control efforts. Those interventions are showing progress, with decreased malaria-related morbidity and mortality in Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zanzibar (1).

CDC contributes to malaria control through the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), a U.S. government interagency initiative to reduce the malaria burden in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) leads PMI, and USAID and CDC jointly implement the initiative, in collaboration with host ministries of health and local and international partners.

References
1.World Health Organization. World malaria report 2009. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2009. Available at
http://www.who.int/malaria/world_malaria_report_2009/en/index.html. Accessed April 21, 2010.
2.Roll Back Malaria Partnership. Global malaria action plan for a malaria-free world. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, Roll Back Malaria Partnership; 2008. Available at http://www.rollbackmalaria.org/gmap/toc.html. Accessed April 21, 2010.

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Announcement: World Malaria Day --- April 25, 2010