World Malaria Day 2013 – How Can I Help?

Date: June 18, 2013
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Thursday, April 25th is World Malaria Day. We can celebrate the progress that has been made—such as 1.1 million lives saved over the past decade1—and also “Invest in the future: Defeat malaria.” Given the available proven tools and cost-effective strategies to prevent and treat the disease, malaria continues to be one of the best public health investments for donors.

Who is most at risk for malaria sickness and death?

While more than two billion people live in malaria-affected areas, the largest and most vulnerable groups are pregnant women and young children in sub-Saharan Africa. In this region, malaria is responsible for 18% of all deaths of children under five years of age.2

Image by Bonnie Gillespie via VOICES for a Malaria-Free Future

Image by Bonnie Gillespie via VOICES for a Malaria-Free Future

Where is the risk for malaria transmission?3

Image source: Malaria Atlas Project (MAP)

Image source: Malaria Atlas Project (MAP)

  • Grey = risk-free.
  • Red = at risk of “stable” malaria transmission. Stable malaria risk: a minimum average of one clinical case per 10,000 population per year.
  • Pink = at risk of “unstable” malaria transmission. Unstable malaria risk: documented cases occur but at less than the stable rate (as defined above). 

What can you do to help?

Image by Bonnie Gillespie via VOICES for a Malaria-Free Future

Image by Bonnie Gillespie via VOICES for a Malaria-Free Future

Learn about what works and invest in high impact programs to reduce the number of people who suffer from malaria.

  1. Support a community case management (CCM) program  in which community health workers bring life-saving treatments to families.
  2. Support programs that mobilize and educate communities with locally-tailored health messaging through the creation of health volunteer networks.
  3. Support the delivery of bednets and mass vaccination campaigns to remote villages and hard-to-reach areas.
  4. Support programs that increase community access to drug treatments through national scale programs.
  5. Support programs that work with a country’s Ministry of Health on its national, regional, and local malaria control strategy.
  6. Support the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, an existing global platform for system-wide change.
  7. Support information systems that track resistance to medications or insecticides to contain the spread of resistance.

Want to learn more?

Image by Bonnie Gillespie, VOICES for a Malaria-Free Future

Image by Bonnie Gillespie, VOICES for a Malaria-Free Future

Innovation: Click here if you are interested in innovative funding opportunities, such as the research and development of new drugs, vaccine strategies, insecticides, and mosquito control.

Other malaria organizations: The following list, while not exhaustive, can help you identify other players working to fight malaria:

  • Roll Back Malaria: One of the partners of the World Malaria Day initiative, their website lists the organizations that are involved with this global partnership.
  • Core Group: A partnership consisting of 48 U.S.-based international organizations focusing on maternal & child health
  • President’s Malaria Initiative: This website links to a list of several organizations that are engaged in the worldwide malaria arena.
  • GBCHealth: Lists opportunities for businesses and the private sector to contribute to the global strategy
  • Global Giving: This website allows you to search by interest and quickly gain a small snapshot of the work that several selected organizations are doing.

What’s New: Even though much of the focus on fighting malaria is concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria is also working in Latin America. Read more on the ONE blog.

Events on World Malaria Day: Thursday, April 25, 2013: Here are more ways to get involved in the global fight to end malaria.