Africa Malaria Day

I just found out that today is Africa Malaria Day, which "The United Nations ... marked ... by highlighting the vital need to provide universal access to artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) as quickly as possible on a continent where the mosquito-borne disease kills an estimated 1 million children below the age of five every year."

UNICEF promotes antimalarial efforts through distribution of bednets impregnated with mosquito repellent, primarly through clinics for maternal and child health.

Last night on NPR, I was listening to a piece that is on BBC news today, which discusses the current controversy over whether $500b that was supposed to go to Africa countries through the World Bank to fight malaria actually reached its destination, and to what extent malaria deaths have or have not been reduced thanks to these efforts:

World Bank accused over malaria





Here are several other links that I have been intending to post about malaria, and Africa Malaria Day seems like the perfect opportunity.

Earlier this month, BBC News published another article in its Health section called Hopes for cheaper malaria drug, which talks about a team of researchers at UC Berkeley that have discovered a way to produce a yeast that can easily be converted into artemisinin, the drug on which many are pinning their hopes of effectively fighting malaria, since so many other drugs are now resistant.

Artemisinin could be resistant if its use is not carefully monitored, which is why the World Health Organization called for companies to stop distributing it in a form not combined with another antimalarial drug back in January.

Thanks to Bora for pointing out this article, Genetic Strategies for Controlling Mosquito-Borne Diseases, which discusses scientific progress made toward developing an engineered gene that would inhibit mosquito-borne transmission of malaria and dengue fever.