World Malaria Day

The third annual World Malaria Day falls on April 25 this year. A preventable and treatable disease, there are about 247 million cases of malaria each year, 212 million of which occur in Africa. About 881,000 people die every year from malaria, 91% (801,000) of those deaths occurring in Africa. Check out Roll Back Malaria's website for more stunning statistics on this easily preventable disease.

This year, hundreds of organizations are intensifying their efforts to educate and equip citizens of high risk nations with the information and tools they need to protect themselves from the deadly disease. The main way to protect oneself from malaria is investing in and using an insecticide-treated bed net, which costs about US $10. Malaria is not only a deadly disease, but the extent to which it affects the livelihoods of people of developing nations is serious - malaria keeps children from going to school and adults from being able to work and provide for their families. Malaria contributes to the ongoing cycle of poverty for the most impoverished countries and communities.


Word is spreading fast about World Malaria Day - Anderson Cooper's recent tweet (which was retweeted by thousands of people) cited the World Health Organization's statistic that every 30 seconds, a child dies of malaria.

We can all help out by spreading the word about malaria and raising awareness for this preventable killer. Organizations like Malaria No More, The Global Fund, Against Malaria Foundation, Nothing But Nets, and Surfaid International are great resources for finding out more information or making a donation that could save a life.