Today is the first ever World Malaria Day. It is described as a day of unified commemoration of the global effort to provide effective control of malaria around the world - a day to make the world care. What does malaria mean to most people who read this newsletter? I may be maligning some of you, but I would guess that for most it is an inconvenience that means that you have to take anti-malarial prophylaxis when you visit malarial areas - a bit of a nuisance, but nothing too serious. But for 40% of the world's population malaria is a serious illness. The disease infects more than 500 million people each year and kills one million of them. As usual, the main burden of disease is born by sub-Saharan Africa - and here it is often children under the age of five who suffer the most. Like TB, malaria is another disease that is worse in the presence of HIV and AIDS - effectively doubling the burden of disease in areas of high HIV prevalence. In fact, malaria kills over 3000 children a day in sub-Saharan Africa. And yet the disease is preventable and treatable. Give these children a thought next time you start your malaria tablets before that trip to Botswana.
Bridget Farham Editor https://www.bizcommunity.com