About

Malaria

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The IssueMalaria is one of the world’s greatest threats to children. Though entirely preventable and treatable, it is a leading cause of death and illness—mostly among young children and pregnant women. Malaria flourishes in more than 100 countries and is transmitted by a common mosquito. Approximately fifty percent of the world lives with the routine threat of malaria. Malaria largely affects the poor. It slows economic development, perpetuating the cycle of poverty. And malaria becomes even more deadly when accompanied by malnutrition and AIDS.

The FactsMalaria is a life-threatening parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. Today approximately 50 percent of the world’s population, most of whom live in the world’s poorest countries, is at risk of malaria.

In many developing nations, malaria is one of the leading threats to a child’s life, resulting in an estimated 750,000 child deaths per year globally. Each year, malaria kills nearly 1 million people—approximately 85 percent of whom are children—and infects an estimated 250 million individuals. Malaria is the fourth leading cause of child death around the world; in sub-Saharan Africa, it is a leading cause of death for children. Tragically, malaria causes 2,000 child deaths per day in Africa, more than double the number of children per day who die from AIDS. Malaria kills a child every 40 seconds.

Malaria results in 8 percent of the total deaths worldwide of children younger than 5, or approximately 750,000 children younger than 5 die from malaria each year. Many children who survive an episode of severe malaria may also suffer from learning impairments or brain damage. Pregnant women and their unborn children are also particularly vulnerable to malaria.

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Malaria symptoms appear about 9 to 14 days after the bite of an infected mosquito. Typically, malaria produces fever, headache, vomiting, and other flu-like symptoms. If drugs are not available for treatment or the parasites are resistant to them, the infection can progress rapidly to become life-threatening. Malaria can kill by infecting and destroying red blood cells and by clogging the capillaries that carry blood to the brain or other vital organs. Malaria, together with HIV and AIDS and TB, is one of the major public health challenges undermining development in the poorest countries in the world. The most common malaria species in Africa, Plasmodium falciparum, is estimated to cause as many as 10,000 maternal deaths each year and contributes to maternal anemia, spontaneous abortions, neonatal deaths, and low birth-weight babies. Malaria is associated with 8 percent to 14 percent of all low birth-weight babies.

In addition to the personal impact, malaria has a broad impact on communities. Malaria accounts for $12 billion in lost economic productivity each year in sub-Saharan Africa. In some countries with a very heavy malaria burden, malaria may account for as much as 40 percent of public health expenditure, 30 percent to 50 percent of inpatient admissions, and up to 60 percent of outpatient visits.

Malaria further threatens individuals vulnerable to other major diseases. For example, malaria and the AIDS virus are often referred to as the deadly duo—malaria makes AIDS worse and vice versa. A person with malaria is more susceptible to contracting HIV when exposed to the virus, and people infected with HIV are more likely to transmit the virus or become seriously ill when infected with malaria.

The SolutionsMalaria can be prevented and treated using inexpensive, proven interventions. Simple solutions such as sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed net, spraying insecticide inside homes, and using the right anti-malarial drugs dramatically reduce the impact of malaria. Unfortunately, for the hundreds of millions of people living on less than $2 per day, these life-saving interventions often remain unaffordable and inaccessible.

One of the most effective interventions is the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets, which prevents families from being bitten by a malaria-carrying mosquito in the first place. Studies have shown that providing full net coverage has the potential to prevent as many as 1 million deaths from all causes for children younger than age 5 in sub-Saharan Africa.

(Sources: State of the World’s Children 2008, UNICEF; World Hunger Series, World Food Program, 2007; Malaria in Pregnancy, World Health Organization.)

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What You Can Do• Pray for wisdom for decision-makers who have the power to increase resources to

fight this killer of children. Pray for health and fullness of life for those vulnerable to malaria. Pray for the collective will to eradicate malaria, once and for all.

• Send a message to your members of Congress. Ask them to increase our contribution to the fight against malaria.

• Donate at www.worldvisionresources.com to provide bed nets for children who have none. Go to www.worldvisionresources.com and click on “programs and events” for more information. Your gift of just $20 provides one family with bed nets and critical malaria prevention education.

• Learn more about malaria at www.worldvisionresources.com and click on “programs and events.”

Copyright © 2009 by World Vision Inc., Mail Stop 321, P.O. Box 9716, Federal Way, WA 98063-9716, 253-815-3320, wvresources@worldvision.org. All rights reserved.

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For more information about our resources, contact:

World Vision Resources

www.worldvision.orgwvresources@worldvision.org

About World VisionWorld Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, World Vision serves alongside the poor and oppressed as a demonstration of God’s unconditional love for all people. We see a world where each child experiences “fullness of life” as described in John 10:10. And we know this can be achieved only by addressing the problems of poverty and injustice in a holistic way. That’s how World Vision is unique: We bring 60 years of experience in three key areas needed to help children and families thrive: emergency relief, long-term development, and advocacy. And we bring all of our skills across many areas of expertise to each community we work in, enabling us to care for children’s physical, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

World Vision Resources educates Christians about global poverty, inspires them to social justice, and equips them with innovative resources to make a difference in the world. By developing biblically based materials for educators and ministry leader on the causes and consequences of global poverty, World Vision Resources supports the organizational mandate to move the church in the United States to more fully embrace its biblical responsibility to serve the poor.

For more information about our resources, contact:World Vision ResourcesMail Stop 321P.O. Box 9716Federal Way, WA 98063-9716Fax: 253-815-3340wvresources@worldvision.org