In 1947, 15,000 cases of malaria were reported in the United States. In 1950, after a well-funded campaign by the government to beat the disease sprayed over 4,650,000 houses with insecticide, there were 2,000 cases were reported. By 1951 the disease was eradicated in our country. If such a history makes it seem like malaria is a fairly easy disease to combat, that’s because it is: artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), the leading anti-malaria treatment, has a 95% cure rate. And yet, more than half of the world’s population is still at risk for contracting malaria. One million people will die from the disease this year – including one child every thirty seconds – and 10 new cases of malaria are contracted every second.
However, all hope is not lost. This April 25th is World Malaria Day, a day to reaffirm the global commitment to fighting this disease. At the first World Malaria Day three years ago, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called for universal coverage to end to malaria by the end of 2010. (Rollback Malaria has a handy webpage detailing everything needed to ensure universal coverage by the end of the year.) The Union for Reform Judaism has been doing its part, as we have been partners in the Nothing but Nets campaign, raising money for insecticide-treated bed nets, which studies have shown reduce contraction of malaria by 90%. (You can donate an insecticide-treated bed net for only $10 in honor of World Malaria Day sleep-outs,” events showing large-scale support for malaria eradication. You can find an event in your area by going to the World Malaria Day official website. Find out more ways to help here, at Nothing but Nets’ official website! The disease is beatable, but it will take a world of concerned citizens to complete the task. So sign up, donate, or attend a sleep-out, and make malaria history by 2011!