World Malaria Day 2012

malaria-mosquito-net-demo World Malaria Day will be commemorated on 25th of April 2012, under the theme "Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria".

The 2011 WHO World Malaria Report indicates that the African Region accounts for 81% of the malaria cases that occurred worldwide. Over 90% of the deaths attributable to the disease occur in the Region and 86% of these deaths are among children below five years of age. Pregnant women, people living with HIV and AIDS and victims of disasters are also particularly vulnerable to malaria.

During the past ten years, there has been a growing political commitment at both regional and international levels to scale up malaria control towards elimination in the Region. Increased funding by Member States, bilateral and multilateral organizations as well as improved access to effective, prevention and treatment have all contributed to reducing the burden of malaria.

However, the devastating health and socioeconomic consequences of this scourge remain a matter of great concern. In order to sustain the gains, accelerate progress in meeting malaria related Millennium Development Goals and to improve child and maternal health, additional investments are needed. Mitigating drug and insecticide resistance and applying new proven tools will also be critical. If not, we risk reversing today's gains and loosing countless more lives to this preventable, treatable disease.

This year's commemoration is an opportunity for:

donors and all development partners to increase and harmonize their contributions against malaria;
endemic countries to put malaria control at the core of development policies, implement strategies to reach universal coverage with life-saving interventions, monitor progress, mitigate threats and scale up what has worked
communities to raise malaria awareness, promote prevention and seek appropriate diagnosis and treatment for malaria
malaria control programs and research and academic institutions to document best practices, flag scientific advances, and apply new knowledge and technology for program performance and impact