About the Fight
Malaria is a complex and deadly disease that puts approximately 3.3 billion people at risk in 109 countries and territories around the world. In 2000, there were between 350 and 500 million cases of malaria and at least one million deaths world-wide, most of them in African children.1 In addition to its health toll, malaria places a heavy economic burden on many endemic countries, contributing to the cycle of poverty and limiting economic development. For example, Africa alone is estimated to lose at least US$ 12 billion per year in direct losses (e.g. illness, treatment, premature death), and many times more than that in lost economic growth.
Today, malaria can be prevented, diagnosed and treated with a combination of available tools. The primary tools used for prevention are long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), indoor residual spraying (IRS) in which insecticides are sprayed on the walls of homes, and intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women (IPTp) to prevent malaria infection in high transmission settings. Other vector control measures (e.g., larviciding and environmental management) are used when appropriate based on scientific evidence. Medicines and diagnostics are used for malaria case management. Malaria can be confirmed by parasitological diagnosis with either microscopy or a rapid diagnostic test (RDT). Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are the recommended treatment against P. falciparum malaria. Chloroquine (CQ) and primaquine (PQ) are the treatment of choice against chloroquine-sensitive P. vivax malaria.1
Johns Hopkins University conducts innovative research, strategic communication and advocacy programs, and vital malaria control and prevention projects around the world as part of the global fight to reduce the burden of malaria.