Learn About Malaria
Ending deaths by malaria requires a comprehensive set of solutions including the distribution of mosquito nets, education in endemic countries, insecticide spraying and the availability of anti-malarial drugs. Research into vaccines and anti-malarial technologies are also crucial in the effort to eradicate the disease.
About Malaria
Malaria is an infectious blood disease caused by a parasite that is transmitted from one human to another by the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. Malaria symptoms, which often appear about 9 to 14 days after the infectious mosquito bite, include fever, headache, vomiting and other flu-like symptoms. If drugs are not available or the parasites are resistant to them, the infection can lead to coma, life-threatening anemia, and death.
Malaria killed 655,000 people in 2010. Ninety-one percent of malaria-related deaths occur in Africa, the majority of whom are children under 5 years of age.
Key Malaria Facts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What is going to end malaria?
See Our Results in
Botswana
Mosquito Nets
Long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets (LLINs) are the fastest way to prevent malaria infection because they create a protective barrier against mosquitoes at night, when the vast majority of transmissions occur. Most mosquito nets can accommodate more than one person. An insecticide treated net can offer about twice the protection of an untreated net, and can even protect other people in the room outside the net. Entire communities can be made safer through high percentages of LLIN penetration.
Read About
Logistics Training Workshops
Education
Educating families, communities and governments on the ground in Africa about what causes malaria and how to prevent its spread is crucial to ending deaths. MNM and our partner organizations are working hard to empower local action by providing information about the effectiveness of nets, how to distribute and use nets, how to access treatment, the importance of spraying, how to protect pregnant women and more.
See all initiatives to Engage the African Public
See all initiatives to Shine a Spotlight on Malaria in the U.S.
Early Diagnosis and Treatment
Diagnostic tools - microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests - and medicines - artemisinin-based combination treatments - allow effective case management. Diagnostic tests and combination medicines of good quality need to be used correctly and strategically to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality and to reduce the risk of parasite resistance to medicines.
Vaccines
While we can end deaths by malaria with tools we have available today, eradicating this awful disease will require use of a vaccine and other new technological innovations. Scientists and organizations around the world are working to accelerate the development of malaria vaccines and ensure their availability and accessibility in the developing world.
Insecticide Spraying
Indoor Residual Spraying (spraying on the inside walls of houses) is an incredibly important part of a comprehensive strategy in the fight against malaria. IRS helps kill the female mosquito after she feeds on a person, reducing malaria transmission to others. In some special cases, sprayings are used to eliminate or treat mosquito breeding sites. Because the African malaria- carrying mosquitoes are so prolific and have such a broad range of breeding habits, this type of "larval control" may only be applicable in some areas.
