Malaria Deaths Down 20 Per Cent Since 2001

Eradication of the deadly and costly disease continues to spread across the world.

We might make a living by complaining about matters economic, political, and social in the most developed region of the planet, but that doesn't mean our little species isn't capable of great accomplishments from time to time. Take, for instance, the revelation that the number of malaria deaths worldwide has been cut by 20 per cent over the past decade, and that one-third of the 108 countries in which the mosquito-borne illness is an issue are on course to eradicate the disease within another decade. Malaria kills about 800,000 people a year, most of whom are children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa. But that's fewer people than the disease killed just 10 years ago, and, if current trends hold, the World Health Organization figures that three million lives could be saved by 2015. In the past four years, malaria has been completely eradicated from Morocco, Turkmenistan, and Armenia, and WHO believes that Europe could be completely rid of the disease within another four years. Plus, think of all the exotic locations you could soon be able to travel to without having to worry about malaria pills or mosquito nets. Progress!