World Malaria Day

Held on : 25th April

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. Malaria is naturally transmitted by the bite of a female Anopheles  mosquito. According to W.H.O. - Approximately half of the world's population is at risk of malaria, particularly those living in lower-income countries. It infects more than 500 million people per year and kills more than 1 million. The burden of malaria is heaviest in sub-Saharan Africa but the disease also afflicts Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and even parts of Europe. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas  (22 countries), Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria, killing between one and three million people, the majority of whom are young children in sub-Saharan Africa. Although it is a preventable and treatable disease, poverty in Africa makes it a huge killer. World Malaria Day is a day for recognizing the global effort to provide effective control of malaria.

History

World Malaria Day was established and approved at the 60th World Health Assembly (WHA) in March 2007. It replaced "Africa Malaria Day" which was commemorated every year since 2001 on 25 April.  The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of malaria as a disease that is preventable and treatable and to mobilize communities across the world to get involved in the fight against it. The RBM (Roll Back Malaria) Partnership was launched in 1998 by WHO, UNICEF, UNDP and the World Bank, in an effort to provide a coordinated global response to the disease. The RBM Partnership is led by the Executive Director, and served by a Secretariat  that is hosted by the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. The Secretariat works to facilitate policy coordination at a global level.

Malaria Awareness Day was designated to be April 25 by President George W. Bush in 2007. In his proclamation, President Bush called on Americans to join in on the goal to eradicate malaria on the African continent. On April 25, 2006, President Bush described Malaria Awareness Day to be a day when "we focus our attention on all who suffer from this terrible disease -- especially the millions on the continent of Africa. We remember the millions more who died from this entirely preventable and treatable disease. As a compassionate nation, we are called to spread awareness about malaria -- and we're called to act. That's what compassionate people do. When they see a problem, they act. And that's what we're here to talk about. On this special day, we renew our commitment to lead the world toward an urgent goal, and that is to turn the tide against malaria in Africa, and around the globe." President Bush also shared with the public the White House's strategic plan against malaria. This included two new endeavours in Uganda and Madagascar to distribute millions of life saving bed nets with the New York-based non-profit group 'Malaria No More'.

Events

• Many prominent companies, organizations are involved in fund raising promotions in the month of April leading up to Malaria Awareness Day.

• Other events include talks on malaria, a short movie, information and discussion on how the public can help fight malaria etc.

• People join the fight against Malaria by joining online campaigns, showcasing the cause at Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, sending e-cards etc. For taking such action one can visit this link - http://www.worldmalariaday.org/take_action_en.cfm

Alternate Names - World Malaria Awareness Day, Malaria Awareness Day.

Holiday Status - It is not a Holiday.