World Malaria Day –  April 25, 2012

On World Malaria Day, we stand at a critical juncture in our efforts to control a global scourge. This year’s theme—Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria—stresses the crucial role of continued investment of resources to maintain hard-won gains. Lives have indeed been saved. According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, annual deaths from malaria decreased from roughly 985,000 in 2000 to approximately 655,000 in 2010. Improvements were noted in all regions that WHO monitors, and, since 2007, four formerly malaria-endemic countries—the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Turkmenistan and Armenia—have been declared malaria-free. However, about half of the world’s population is at risk of contracting malaria, and the disease continues to exact an unacceptably high toll, especially among very young children and pregnant women.

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2012/Pages/WorldMalariaDay2012.aspx