News & Stories

Wiping Out Malaria

April 20, 2012

A global disease requires a global response

By Tim Ziemer

Every 30 seconds, an African mother watches helplessly as her child dies of malaria. This adds up to about 3,000 children a day, making malaria one of the world’s deadliest diseases. The World Health Organization reports that for about half the world’s population, this mosquito-borne disease is one of the greatest threats to public health.

Until about 50 years ago, malaria was prevalent in the United States; foreign diplomats who lived in Washington, D.C., received hardship pay because of malaria along the Potomac River. But in the 1950s and 1960s aggressive efforts by governments to prevent malaria through the use of sprays (such as DDT) and other prevention and treatment methods eradicated the disease in the United States and other developed countries. In the developing world, malaria was left unchecked.

Read the rest of the story on the alife website.