On World Malaria Day 2013, a review of the past decade shows enormous achievements in malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The goal, however, is getting to zero. Zero deaths from malaria. Today we have the tools and the operational approach to reach this goal.
Since 2000, malaria mortality rates have fallen by more than 25 per cent. However, malaria still kills an estimated 655,000 people worldwide. The majority of these deaths are children under five years of age. Africa bears the malaria burden with more than 90 per cent of the world's malaria deaths.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) supports the work of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to rapidly and equitably scale-up malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment at community level. The first level of health care is the household. With almost 19,000 Red Cross Red Crescent community-based volunteers worldwide, we are able to reach millions of households in the most vulnerable communities, empowering them to respond comprehensively to malaria and thus strengthening community resilience.
Technology and innovations are at the core of our approach and can help achieve sustainable results in the fight against the disease.