Malaria

Pivotal testing of RTS,S is on track for target enrollment of 16,000 children

NAIROBI, KENYA November 3, 2009 -- A pivotal efficacy trial of RTS,S, the world’s most clinically advanced malaria vaccine candidate, is now underway in seven African countries: Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. The trial, which is expected to involve up to 16,000 children, is on schedule, with more than 5,000 children already enrolled, researchers announced Tuesday at the 5th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Pan-African Malaria Conference.    » read more »

Includes Provisions Written by Senators Boxer and Smith to Combat Tuberculosis

March 13, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act, which includes language written by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) to increase funding to combat international tuberculosis.    » read more »

February 29, 2008 -- Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the foundation's Global Health program, released the following statement today on the passage of the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act (H.R. 5501) by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs:

This bipartisan bill is an important step toward renewing and strengthening the U.S. commitment to fighting AIDS, TB, and malaria—diseases that, together, kill nearly five million people every year.    » read more »

06 December 2007 -- For centuries, malaria was a fact of life in the tropics and anywhere else the parasite-carrying mosquito could live and breed.

But during the middle of the 20th century, health officials started to bring the disease under control, using pesticides and medications. Rates of malaria in many countries dropped, and in some places, public health experts began to talk about eradicating the disease altogether.

Unfortunately, in the last two to three decades, malaria has gotten out of control again.    » read more »

27 November 2007 -- The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria reports nearly every family with children in Africa soon could have a bed net to protect against malaria. The Geneva-based Global Fund says it has delivered 46 million insecticide-treated bed nets to families in malaria zones, a 155 percent increase over last year's result of 18 million.

The Global Fund says insecticide-treated bed nets are one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent malaria transmission.    » read more »

12 November 2007 -- The treatment of neglected tropical diseases, as well as malaria, in developing countries was the focus of a recent conference in Washington, DC. The term “neglected tropical diseases” is used to describe a group of illnesses that don’t receive enough funding, due to the fact that although they hurt people, they don’t kill them.    » read more »

November 8, 2007 -- How are physicists helping an effort to eradicate malaria, the mosquito-borne disease that kills more than one million people every year? Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) used their expertise in radiation science to help a young company create weakened, harmless versions of the malaria-causing parasite. These parasites, in turn, are being used to create a new type of vaccine that shows promise of being more effective than current malaria vaccines.    » read more »

- 'Best Week Ever' for Nothing But Nets
- VH1 Produces, Premieres Public Service Announcement With a Little Help From VH1's Hit Series

NEW YORK, Nov. 5 -- An irritating human-sized mosquito plays it for laughs to highlight a very serious issue in a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) created by VH1 for Nothing But Nets, a global, grassroots campaign that provides long lasting insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa.    » read more »

14 September 2007 -- University scientists in the United States have taken what they say is an important step in the effort to end malaria. At Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, scholars recently identified a sugar in mosquitoes that helps explain, for the first time, the mechanism of the malaria parasite invasion. The finding could be a key element for a vaccine development in the fight against malaria. Producer Zulima Palacio spoke with the authors of the research and files this report. Carol Pearson narrates it.    » read more »

09 August 2007 -- In Kenya, environmental researchers say they may have discovered a new, effective weapon to combat malaria. The disease kills more than 1 million people worldwide each year. The weapon is a fish commonly found in Western Kenya.

Researchers in Kisumu, on the shores of Lake Victoria, were studying insects and the environment when they discovered that by introducing a fish called the Nile Tilapia into ponds, mosquito numbers fell by more than 94 percent in less than a year.    » read more »

07 June 2007 -- As G-8 leaders debate what action they are going to take to tackle climate change, poor communities in Kenya's highlands are already feeling the impact of global warming. Katy Migiro reports from our Nairobi bureau that increased temperatures are bringing malarial mosquitoes to areas that were previously safe from the disease that kills more Africans than any other.

Africa is considered the continent that has done the least to contribute to climate change, but that has not made it immune to the problems caused by climate change.    » read more »

Mobilizing volunteers in more than 50 U.S. cities for Malaria Awareness Day

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, April 25, 2007 — In recognition of Malaria Awareness Day, the American Red Cross is joining with partners to expand the fight against malaria. Malaria impacts more than 300 million people each year, claiming the lives of approximately 3,000 children every day. This is the first Malaria Awareness Day in the United States—a day recognized by many African countries to show solidarity against malaria.    » read more »

April 25, 2007 -- MRS. BUSH: Welcome, everyone, to the White House. Thank you very much for being a part of this Malaria Awareness Day.

Today, citizens around the world are making a historic commitment to end malaria. In European capitals, parliaments are debating how their governments can help. In Ontario, Canadians are commemorating their first World Malaria Day by raising money for bed nets for Uganda. Across the continent of Africa, people are teaching their families, friends, and neighbors how to protect themselves from this deadly disease.    » read more »

Families USA Commemorates Malaria Awareness Day

Washington, D.C. - Families USA joins health leaders around the country and the world in recognizing the need for increased spending to combat malaria, an infectious disease that kills more than 1 million people annually.

This year’s first-ever U.S. Malaria Awareness Day (announced at last December’s White House Summit on Malaria), in conjunction with Africa Malaria Day, should be lauded for attempting to reduce the burden of malaria and shining a much-needed spotlight on this massive global problem.    » read more »

19 April 2007 -- Malaria kills more than one million people each year, with nearly all of those deaths children in Africa. As the continent marks Africa Malaria Day, on April 25, new treatments have been developed that could help the international community move closer to reducing deaths by 50 percent in three years.

It is often said laughter may be one of the best medicines. This point is proven in rural Kenya, where crowds of people are drawn to comic skits that also teach people about the dangers of malaria.    » read more »