George Clooney contracted the disease but last January and the millions of Africans who get daily?
Malaria is an infectious disease spread by mosquitoes, which threatens to 3,300 million people in 190 countries worldwide.
Each year more than 225 million cases of malaria, of which nearly one million are fatal, 90% live in sub-Saharan Africa where children and pregnant women are the main victims.
Africa remains the region which bears the brunt of malaria cases and deaths. 50 African countries have regions where malaria reigns. Medical treatment can cost half 6 to $ 10 U.S. in many African countries, while 60% of Africans earn less than $ 2 per day. When these people should pay for treatment, most can not afford it, so I do not have access to treatment.
In recent years, the chances of fighting and restrict malaria have increased. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has provided free treatment of malaria in many countries in Africa, and currently directs a significant portion of its support to strengthening national health systems, an important factor in the fight against malaria.
The intervention of the WHO (World Health Organization) to combat Malaria has had a positive effect in Africa, and the number of infections has decreased since 2008. According to a report this past year 2010 by WHO, the number of deaths due to malaria in Africa has fallen from a million to 781,000 people. This is a very positive point.
Today there are effective tools to treat malaria, but only have access to a limited number of people. There are new drugs such as artemisinin, derived from a plant that effectively combat malaria infection. Unfortunately, many pregnant women and children especially often do not get the treatment they need. In Malawi, where chloroquine could be used as prevention was distributed free at antenatal clinics. Today we must act on the disease by taking the full treatment. So the two main barriers are the cost of testing and treatment, and in many countries and regions that are difficult to access health facilities.
In recent years there has been a significant movement in the fight against malaria. The cost for disposal was estimated at $ 5,330 million in 2009 U.S. $ 6,200 million in 2010 and U.S. $ 5.001 million for each year of 2011 to 2020. What is not calculated the cost of malaria in human lives and the devastating effect this poses to the economies of those countries.
A number of organizations medical and NGOs have joined the efforts of the United Nations. They have called for the entry into force a series of decisive measures such as free treatment, the widespread use of rapid tests for free, training local staff to identify the simple cases of malaria in local health centers and distribution ITNs. These measures have saved many lives in poor countries and developing regions. But much remains to be done. Customs duties applied in many countries where malaria is endemic are driving up the cost of drugs.
In order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on the topic of malaria mortality, and bring a real change, efforts are needed nationally and internationally. Political support at country level and new strategies and international finance are the two key strategies. Only through real cooperation between countries and their international partners will achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.