U.N. General Assembly passes resolution urging renewed efforts to fight malaria

Ahead of World Malaria Day on April 25, the U.N. General Assembly on Monday adopted a resolution urging governments, U.N. agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and private foundations to accelerate their efforts and build upon established successes in the fight against the disease, particularly in Africa, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports.

In 2009, nearly 800,000 people died of malaria, with 90 percent of those deaths occurring in Africa. However, 43 nations, including 11 in Africa, have reduced by half their number of annual malaria deaths over the past decade, according to the news service.

The U.N. has set 2015 as the date by which to achieve significant gains against infectious diseases, including malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. The Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership, which is funded in part by the World Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "and assisted by health organizations, including the World Health Organization, aims to save 4.2 million people from malaria deaths by 2015," the news service writes (4/18).

In related news, New Europe describes the efforts of several organizations and governments to fight malaria, including supplying insecticide-treated bed nets, rapid diagnostic tests and artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) (4/17).