Tag: malaria

  • First Malaria Vaccine Rolls Out in Malawi

    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…

  • 3 Ways You Can Help On World Malaria Day

    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…

  • Three African Countries Chosen for First Malaria Vaccine Trials

    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…

  • Researchers Say Donor Funding Will Make Malaria Drugs More Affordable

    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…

  • New 6-Year Global Strategy Launches to Further Curb Malaria Deaths

    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…

  • Photo of the Week: Frontline Health Workers Count #Zambia

    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…

  • Researcher Advocates New Way to Develop Malaria Vaccine

    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…

  • President’s Malaria Initiative Releases New Report

    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…

  • Malaria No More Launches #MalariaSucks Campaign

    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…

  • Meet Dismus Mwalukwanda, a Community Health Worker in Zambia #WHWWeek

    Meet Dismus Mwalukwanda, a Community Health Worker in Zambia #WHWWeek

    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…

  • New Needle-Free Malaria Test Could Be a Game Changer

    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…

  • Increased International Travel Spurs U.S. Malaria Cases

    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…

  • [Photos] Inside a Malaria Treatment Center

    [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…

  • Can $1 Really Save a Life?

    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…

  • Reporting from Zambia with the International Reporting Project

    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…

  • Key Tweets from the #MalariaBuzz Twitter Chat

    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…

  • New Partner Announcement: End7

    New Partner Announcement: End7

    We are extremely happy to partner with an extremely important campaign initiative, End7, that will help save children from seven of the most debilitating and deadly tropical diseases on the planet. End7 is on a mission to see the end of 7 Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) by 2020. And they want you to be part of…

  • Why Bed Nets in the Developing World Are So Vital

    Why Bed Nets in the Developing World Are So Vital

    Did you know that 91% of all malaria deaths occur in Africa*? Or, that the mosquito that transmits malaria only bites from dusk until dawn? Until there is a viable, clinically-tested vaccine for malaria bed nets are the only saving grace for children whose immune systems are too weak to fight off the deadly disease. Our…

  • New Partner Announcement – Shot at Life

    New Partner Announcement – Shot at Life

    Did you know 1.7 million children in developing nations will die this year because they don’t have access to life-saving vaccines? How can this be changed, you ask? Lives can be saved by simply administering vaccines to children who are most vulnerable to life-threatening diseases like malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea, and polio. It’s that easy. I…