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World Malaria Day
25 April 2012
In 2010, about 3.3 billion people – almost half of the world’s population – were at risk of malaria. Every year, this leads to about 216 million malaria cases and an estimated 655 000 deaths. People living in the poorest countries are the most vulnerable.
World Malaria Day – which was instituted by the World Health Assembly at its 60th session in May 2007 – is a day for recognizing the global effort to provide effective control of malaria. It is an opportunity:
for countries in the affected regions to learn from each other’s experiences and support each other’s efforts;
for new donors to join a global partnership against malaria;
for research and academic institutions to flag their scientific advances to both experts and general public; and
for international partners, companies and foundations to showcase their efforts and reflect on how to scale up what has worked.