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Malaria is both preventable and
curable. Yet every year more than 500 million people become severely ill with
malaria and more than one million of them die. The casualties are mainly
infants and young children; a child dies of malaria every 30 seconds. It is a
disease that puts 40% of the world’s population at risk and though deaths are
largely in sub-Saharan Africa – Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and
parts of Europe are also affected.
Malaria’s devastating effect
causes an average loss of 1.3% annual economic growth in countries with
intense transmission, but global awareness of malaria remains low despite the
high death toll and cost of the disease. That is why the World Health
Assembly, WHO’s governing
body, resolved in May 2007 that World Malaria Day shall be
commemorated annually on April 25th. It is a day of unified
commemoration of the global effort to provide effective control of malaria
around the world. On this year's World Malaria Day, the Roll Back Malaria
Partnership – which includes WHO – will focus on malaria as a global health
problem. The partners will engage the international community in their fight
against malaria.
More Information…
- World Malaria Day, click here
- Roll Back Malaria Partnership, click here
- WHO Global Malaria Programme, click here
- WHO SEARO Malaria’s website, click here
- WHO
SEARO Regional Director’s message on World Malaria Day 2008, click here
- Mekong Malaria Programme (MMP), click here
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