Malaria Facts
| Today, Europe is mostly malaria free. However, a phenomenon known as airport malaria raises concerns whereby mosquitoes from all around the world travel in planes and tourists' luggage, and spread the parasite in and around airport areas. |
| The famous Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen died around 3300 years ago due to a malaria infection. |
| In Nigeria, only three out of one hundred pregnant women sleep under an insecticide-treated net. |
| Only 10 % of febrile children under fififi ve receive anti-malaria drugs promptly (within 24 hrs) in Tanzania. |
| Grave news from the Cambodian-Thailand border: The most deadly malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, is starting to show resistance to its most effective therapy, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). |
Did you know...
- That half of the world’s population lives at risk of malaria?
- That 125 million pregnancies globally are at risk of malaria every year?
- That malaria is a preventable and treatable infectious disease transmitted by mosquitoes?
- That malaria kills about one million people every year, most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa where the disease is the leading cause of death for children under five?
- That malaria is a global emergency that affects mostly poor women and children?
- That malaria related-illnesses and mortality cost Africa’s economy alone USD 12 billion per year?
- That an estimated 4.2 billion lives could be saved by 2015 in the 20 highest burden African countries alone if prevention and treatment is available for all people at risk of the disease?
- That it needs about 5 billion USD every year to tackle malaria?
- That 6 out of 8 MDGs could be impacted by addressing the malaria problem?
- That Eritrea, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe reported declines in the number of cases and deaths of 50% or more between 2000 and 2006–2007 following high coverage of control activities?
