Today is World Malaria Day, a day designated to commemorate the global effort to provide effective worldwide control of malaria.
Malaria is a parasitic disease spread by mosquitos. It kills nearly 1 million people each year and affects up to 500 million people across 109 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It has been estimated that a child dies from malaria every 30 seconds. The truly sad part is that each of these deaths is avoidable.
A success story in combating Malaria is exemplified by intervention efforts in the small African country of Rwanda. Through the establishment of programs implementing home-based management of disease (such as distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets), community and government support, and improvements in health facility services, deaths due to Malaria have dropped by 60% over the past two years in Rwanda, representing a tremendous accomplishment in public health disease control.
The Rwandan success story gives hope to those plagued by this devastating disease and highlights the importance of community and government support for disease eradication.
Learn more about how you can support global efforts to eradicate Malaria today.
