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First Malaria Vaccine Rolls Out in Malawi
It is heartening to see progress in the fight against malaria. Over the past thirty years and with hundreds of millions of dollars invested thus far, the RTS,S malaria vaccine was officially rolled out yesterday in Malawi. In 2017, I wrote about the vaccine trials that began in 2009 and the announcement of the three countries…
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3 Ways You Can Help On World Malaria Day
Today is World Malaria Day. This year’s theme: End Malaria for Good. While 6.8 million malaria deaths were averted between 2000 – 2015, there are still 3.2 billion people who are susceptible to contracting the disease every day and a half million children die from malaria every year. There is a long way to go…
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Three African Countries Chosen for First Malaria Vaccine Trials
For decades, there has been consistent chatter, research, and hope for a potential malaria vaccine. Now, all three are finally coming to fruition to roll out the world’s first clinical malaria vaccine trials. The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) announced today that Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi have been chosen for the WHO-coordinated pilot…
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Researchers Say Donor Funding Will Make Malaria Drugs More Affordable
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest burden of malaria sickness and death. In fact, 90 percent of all malaria deaths occur in Africa according to the World Health Organization. Children under the age of five are particularly susceptible of dying from malaria and adults can be completely debilitated by the infectious disease as it zaps their energy…
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Kicking Off World Health Worker Week Through Photos and Stories #WHWWeek
To kick off World Health Worker Week (April 5 – 11) we are sharing photos and stories of some of the health workers we’ve met around the world over the years who work tirelessly to keep women, children, and families healthy and most importantly alive. In the sub-Saharan and Asian countries where we have met these health workers,…
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Botswana Receives First White Space Telemedicine Service to Reach Rural Populations
One of the beautiful aspects of Africa is its beautiful, wide expanses. All over the continent you will be awed by how far-reaching your eyes can see especially when traveling through its spectacular countryside. But as much as it is beautiful, the size of Africa also poses a significant problem because without modern infrastructure, including the Internet, and transport…
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New 6-Year Global Strategy Launches to Further Curb Malaria Deaths
Since 2001 malaria deaths have fallen by 4.3 million. This is due in part because of a concerted scale-up of malaria prevention and control efforts, especially across sub-Saharan Africa. Increased funding has made this scale-up and global malaria prevention partnerships possible, and yet the funding falls short of the estimated $5.1 billion annually needed to…
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Zambians Head to the Polls: Candidates’ Stance on Health Care
This morning as most Americans were asleep Zambians headed to the polls to elect either the candidate of the ruling party, Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front founded in 1991 by the late President Michael Sata, or the leading opposition candidate representing the United Party for National Development, Hakainde Hichilema. Political observers say the race is close and there is…
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Photo of the Week: Frontline Health Workers Count #Zambia
I walked quickly beside Dismus Mwalukwanda on a sandy path bordered by overgrown shrubbery leading through the bush to rural homes outside of Lusaka, Zambia’s capital. Mwalukwanda, 43, is a frontline health worker for the Njovo Village and took me to visit a family whose young children he has treated often for malaria. Mwalukwand is…
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Researcher Advocates New Way to Develop Malaria Vaccine
Currently there is no effective vaccine to protect against malaria even though the disease kills 600,000 people annually and 3.4 billion people worldwide are at risk of contracting the debilitating and potentially fatal disease. 90 percent of all malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa according to the World Health Organization. The Malaria Vaccine Technology Roadmap set…
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President’s Malaria Initiative Releases New Report
For those of you who love global health data, the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) launched its latest report, the Eighth Annual Report to Congress, last week. Drawing on cumulative country data gathered over the course of fiscal year 2013 as well as over the last eight years when PMI launched we learn pertinent milestones that have been achieved to…
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Malaria No More Launches #MalariaSucks Campaign
As you might know last Friday marked World Malaria Day, a day to encourage the global health community, the private sector, governments, NGOs, and everyday, ordinary people to keep up the fight to help defeat malaria. Every minute a child dies of malaria somewhere in the world, most of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. In…
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New Needle-Free Malaria Test Could Be a Game Changer
One of the most effective advancements in malaria testing has been the rapid diagnostic test. Easy to use and inexpensive it cut the wait time for diagnostics drastically and has made testing and treatment easier for frontline health workers around the world particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where the prevalence of malaria is the highest. In…
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Increased International Travel Spurs U.S. Malaria Cases
I travel to many malaria endemic countries and to be completely honest I do not take my malaria medicine as I should. They tend to make me ill, so I just roll the dice and hope for the best. That might not be the smartest thing to do, especially knowing that there has been a…
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![[Photos] Inside a Malaria Treatment Center](https://socialgoodmoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/dsc5815.jpg)
[Photos] Inside a Malaria Treatment Center
I have been told enough harrowing personal stories and have read enough reports to understand contracting malaria isn’t a cakewalk. And for children (especially those under the age of five) and expectant mothers malaria can be deadly. Fortunately with rapid diagnosis and malaria treatments children as well as adults can experience speedy recoveries from a…
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Can $1 Really Save a Life?
Can $1 really save a life? Global malaria eradication NGO, Malaria No More, says yes. With Power of One (Po1), Malaria No More’s new, innovative campaign that takes the power of people’s desire to do good coupled with a low price point to online and mobile philanthropy, Malaria No More is on a mission to close the…
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Sanitation Wisdom from a Zambian Chief #ZambiaHealth
As you may know I am in Zambia with the International Reporting Project as a New Media fellow. Ten of us are here in the country to report on HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other rarely covered stories in the region. Yesterday we visited Macha, a small Southern province town 60 miles from the nearest city,…
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Reporting from Zambia with the International Reporting Project
As I mentioned a few weeks ago I will be reporting from Zambia as an International Reporting Project Zambia Fellow starting on July 15. I will be in Africa with nine stellar new media journalists. We all have our own beats and will report on different angles about HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. I personally will…
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George W. Bush Praises Zambia’s HIV/ AIDS National Efforts
In less than a month I will join nine other new media journalists on a reporting trip to Zambia as an International Reporting Zambia Fellow. We will be charged with learning more about HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis and their affects on the Zambian citizens, report on the problems and Zambia’s national and community-led efforts to…
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Key Tweets from the #MalariaBuzz Twitter Chat
Today the world’s largest NGOs that work to fight malaria hosted an informative Twitter chat about malaria’s devastating effects on women, men, and children as well as facts to stop the spread of the global, 100% preventable disease. Below are key tweets from the daylong chat and relevant infographics from our friends at Jhpiego. You…