Helping put Malaria out of business
Today is World Malaria Day, and this morning we made a donation of £8,550 to Malaria No More, the principal UK charity fighting to end Malaria.
Last night I attended an event organized by Malaria No More to launch their campaign video on the eve of World Malaria Day:
I also learnt some astonishing statistics:
- It’s estimated that malaria has killed half of all the humans that have ever lived
- In 2015, about 303,000 children in Africa died before their 5th birthdays
- Malaria kills over 1 million people every year
But there’s positive news too:
- Between 2010 and 2015 there was a 21% decrease in malaria cases reported worldwide.
- Over the same timeframe there was a 29% decrease in malaria mortality rates among all age groups, and a 35% decrease among children under 5
- Namibia is on track to be declared free of Malaria by 2020, showing that with enough effort, the disease can be eradicated
In short, we are beating the disease, but we need to make it a priority to see it through, otherwise Malaria incidence and mortality can increase rapidly and all the progress can be undone.