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These three children were brought by their mothers to a dispensary in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, to seek treatment for suspected malaria. |
Africa
Malaria Day - April 25, 2004
This year we celebrate the efforts African children
are making to prevent malaria. "Children for Children
to Roll Back Malaria" shows that children can help each
other and their families learn to avoid this terrible
disease, which kills an African child every 30 seconds. |
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Mothers
and children at a health clinic in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic
of the Congo
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These three children were brought by their mothers to a dispensary
in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, to seek treatment for
suspected malaria. Every thirty
seconds a child dies in Africa , killed by malaria. Every year one million
people die of malaria in the world; 90% of them are in Africa, and most
of them are young children. These sad estimates by the World Health Organization
show that malaria, one of the great global killers, weighs most heavily
on Africa.
Yet malaria can be prevented and treated. Drugs used right can cure
an ill child. Bed nets treated with insecticide can protect young children
(and pregnant women, another high risk group) against the bites of malaria-carrying
mosquitoes.
Each year, April 25 is Africa
Malaria Day. On that day in 2000, heads of state and representatives
from 44 African countries met in Abuja, Nigeria, and signed a declaration
committing their countries to halve malaria deaths in Africa by 2010.
Africa Malaria Day serves to raise the world's awareness of this severe
but preventable health problem.
CDC was created in 1946 to fight malaria in the United States. Nearly
sixty years later, CDC participates actively in the worldwide battle
against malaria, in endemic countries but also at home, where reintroduction
of the disease is a constant threat. This year, CDC joins the global
observation of Africa Malaria Day by launching this new Web site on malaria.
Related Sources:
Page last modified : April
23,
2004
Content source: Division of Parasitic Diseases
National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (ZVED)
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