Malaria is one of the leading causes of death for children under 5 in the developing world, resulting in approximately 800,000 child deaths per year. Hitting Africa the hardest, malaria kills more than 1 million people each year — approximately 85 percent of whom are children (1) — and infects between 350 million and 500 million individuals. (2)

Malaria afflicts primarily the poorest populations who tend to live in malaria-prone areas. According to the World Food Programme, 57 percent of malaria deaths are attributable to under-nutrition. (3) Malaria is both preventable and treatable. Yet many die because prevention and treatment tools are not readily available to the people who need them most.

World Vision's initiative to end malaria

In June 2008, World Vision launched a major five-year initiative to reduce the illness and death caused by malaria. World Vision aims to contribute to a 75 percent reduction in malaria cases, with the end goal of nearly zero preventable malaria deaths by 2015. This will be achieved by:

• Extensively distributing long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets;
• Advocating that the U.S. government increased funding for malaria to at least $1 billion per year;
• Developing corporate partnerships to leverage resources like bed nets and medication;
• Increasing World Vision's private income for malaria programs;
• Strengthening and expanding a public movement in the United States to eradicate malaria.

Visit our End Malaria Campaign site to learn more.

What is the U.S. doing?

In June 2005, President Bush launched the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI). He pledged to increase U.S. malaria funding by more than $1.2 billion over five years to reduce malaria-related deaths by 50 percent in 15 African countries. He also challenged other donor countries, private foundations, and corporations to help reduce the suffering and death caused by this disease.

However, given the grave threat to the lives of children worldwide, these actions have not been sufficient. In order to display leadership and commitment to averting a leading cause of child deaths globally, the United States must:

• Increase the U.S. financial contribution in the fight against malaria to more than $500 million next year with the goal of $1 billion a year by 2010.
• Support U.S. leadership of global scale-up of proven malaria interventions, such as universal coverage of insecticide-treated bed nets.
• Given the deadly synergy between HIV and AIDS and malaria, fulfill the U.S. commitment to providing $48 billion over the next five years to fight HIV and AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.

Learn more

• Visit endmalaria.org.

Get involved

• Send a message to your members of Congress. Ask them to increase our contribution to the fight against malaria.
• Donate now to provide bed nets for children who have none.

Sources

1. UNICEF State of the World's Children, 2008
2. UNICEF Health Malaria
3. WFP World Hunger Series, 2007

Facebook users: Join our End Malaria group

Download our End Malaria brochure (PDF)

Arresting a leading killer of young children
World Vision News
October 2008

Questions? Contact us.