World Malaria Report 2005 Published

The World Malaria Report was published on 3 May. It is a comprehensive effort by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership to take stock of where the world stands in relation to one of its most devastating diseases. It reveals that the tide may be beginning to turn against malaria as control and prevention programmes start to take effect. According to the report, during the past 5 years real progress has been made in scaling up malaria control and prevention efforts.Over 3 billion people live under the threat of malaria. It kills over a million each year -- mostly children. The more immediate goal of Roll Back Malaria is to halve the burden of malaria worldwide by 2010. A major obstacle to achieving that goal, the report explains, is a lack of funds. The report estimates that US$ 3.2 billion per year is needed to effectively combat malaria in the 82 countries with the highest disease burden. This year, US$ 600 million was made available for global malaria control. WHO and UNICEF welcome the recent World Bank announcement of its plan to commit US$ 500 million to US$ 1 billion over the next five years, which will help more people get access to essential malaria prevention and treatment.The BBC news story quotes the report as saying that it is "too soon" to say if the initiative to combat malaria has had an impact.