Rolling back malaria: opportunities and challenges

In recent months the world has experienced a wakeup call about the gravity of the malaria situation in Africa and much of the rest of the developing world. Western governments business leaders journalists and even film stars have called for greater resources to reduce the malaria toll for the globe’s poorest people. It is a good moment to take stock of the progress we have made what we have learned and the challenges we face. The Roll Back Malaria (RBM) initiative was launched by WHO the World Bank UNICEF and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 1998 at a time of recognition that the malaria situation in the world especially in Africa was deteriorating and in the face of evidence that deployment of insecticide-treated nets and other preventive measures could reduce mortality. During its first four years the RBM partnership — consisting of malaria-endemic countries their bilateral and multilateral development partners the private sector non-governmental and community-based organizations foundations and research and academic institutions — functioned as a loose network of stakeholders with the shared goal of reducing the burden of malaria by half by the year 2010 through evidence-based action. (excerpt)