The end of malaria

A world free of malaria isn't just a dream. It's possible. Over the last 25 years, new interventions like insecticide-treated bed nets, rapid diagnostic tests, and new treatments, together with increased funding, have prevented more than 2 billion cases of malaria and saved over 12 million lives. But more progress is needed. A child still dies of malaria nearly every minute. And new threats like climate change and drug resistance are making the fight against this mosquito-borne disease even tougher. But with funding from the Gates Foundation and others, researchers are exploring a range of bold new innovations to combat malaria, including life-saving medications, vaccines, and next-generation tools that could limit the ability of mosquitoes to transmit malaria in the first place. Led by African scientists, these new approaches would give countries powerful and cost-effective tools to protect children living in hard-to-reach areas where the malaria burden is highest. Ultimately, it will be up to each country's leadership to determine what combination of tools will work best to prevent and treat malaria. The science has never been more promising, and I'm excited by the potential of these new innovations to bring us closer to the day when malaria is a disease of the past.