•  united nations
• Saturday, October 30, 2010
• Inter Press Service

Despite the tough global economy, malaria deaths can be halted by the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadline thanks to new commitments made by governments during last MDGs Summit (Sept 20-22), said Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Planning Robert Orr. Before the Summit there was real doubt that MDGs could gain any additional traction. The announcements of budget increases made by a number of countries ahead of the Global Fund Replenishment Conference are very good signs the replenishment will do quit well, Orr said.

Canada, France, Japan and Norway announced major increases in commitments to the U.N.-backed Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the United Kingdom pledged to triple its malaria funding to 500 million pounds by 2014. The replenishment meeting is scheduled in New York on Oct. 4, with U.N. Secretary-General Ban-Ki moon chairing it.

In an interview ahead of World Malaria Day on Apr. 25, Ray Chambers, the secretary-general's special envoy for malaria, spoke of the two-year 'Counting Malaria Out' campaign as fundamental to reach MDG 6 - combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. This campaign is designed to intensify global efforts to make mosquito nets available for all populations at risk in order to reduce the number of malaria cases and deaths by 50 percent by the end of 2010.

Chambers was appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Feb. 2008 to help raise awareness and funds to fight the disease. Accomplishing the Counting Malaria Out campaign goal by 2010 would mean by 2015 there would be zero deaths or near-zero deaths from malaria, Chambers said in April. The end to deaths from malaria could be one of the major stories of the early 21st century, Orr stressed. Malaria, which is caused by a parasite transmitted to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes, currently kills an estimated one million people around the world every year, with most of deaths occurring in Africa.

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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