World Malaria Day
World Malaria Day is celebrated every year on 25 April, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO). It is the international observance for malaria.
What is World Malaria Day?
World Malaria Day was established and approved at the 60th World Health Assembly (WHA)(cite) in March 2007. It replaces "Africa Malaria Day" which has been commemorated every year since 2001 on 25 April and will be celebrated from henceforth annually on the same day, in order to provide education and understanding of malaria as a global scourge that is preventable and a disease that is curable.
Africa Malaria Day was a day that was set aside by African governments committed to rolling back malaria and meeting the United Nations malaria-related Millennium Development Goals.(cite) But now Member states of the World Health Organisation agree that greater awareness is needed. It is hoped that the establishment of World Malaria Day will mobilize communities across the world to get involved in the fight. It is in recognition of the fact that the world health community recognizes malaria as a global emergency that knows no borders.
Why is it needed?
World Malaria Day is an opportunity for malaria-free countries to learn about the devastating consequences of the disease and for new donors to join a global partnership against malaria. It is an occasion for research and academia institutions to flag their scientific advances to both experts and the general public. It is chance for countries in affected regions to learn from each other's experiences and back each other efforts. It is an opportunity for international partners, companies and foundations to showcase their results and reflect together on how to scale up what has been proven to work.
Malaria has plagued humanity since ancient times and continues to haunt 40% of the world's population, infecting more than 500 million people per year and killing over 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 not a day for gloom and fear. It is a day of determination and optimism as the global community now has enough evidence that this fight can be won if partners collaborate efficiently on community, local, national, regional and international levels.
Why 25th April?
25th April has also been commemorated as Africa Malaria Day since 2001; a year after the historic Abuja Declaration was signed by 44 African malaria-endemic countries at the African Malaria Summit.
In May 2007 the World Health Assembly, attended by delegations from all of WHO's 192 Member States, considered the latest malaria reports and observed that global awareness of malaria remains low despite the high death toll and cost of the disease.
The Health Assembly thus resolved that World Malaria Day shall be commemorated annually to provide "education and understanding of malaria" and spread information on "year-long intensified implementation of national malaria-control strategies, including community-based activities for malaria prevention and treatment in endemic areas." (WHA 60.18)
World Malaria Day Button
An initiative that was developed for the Roll Back Malaria Partnership was the World Malaria Day Button. Organisations and Indivduals could show their support for World Malaria Day by displaying the World Malaria Button online on their websites. The Button was available in four languages (English, French, Spanish and Portuguese).
Having the World Malaria Day Button on their site then linked visitors to Roll Back Malaria Partnership's "World Malaria Day" site where they could find out what events were taking place on World Malaria Day. Alternatively people put the Button in their email signatures. By April 25th 2008 over 140 websites had this button on display including organisations like the World Bank, UNITAID, PMI, WHO, DFID and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.