April 25 was World Malaria Day, commemorating the date in 2000 when 44 African leaders committed to cutting malaria deaths. Approximately half of the world's population is at risk of malaria, particularly those living in lower-income countries. It infects more than 500 million people per year and kills more than 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.

Recent increases in resources have led to lives saved and fewer illnesses and lost productivity, but more work is needed.

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.

This year's World Malaria Day campaign theme is "Counting Malaria Out." The campaign calls on malaria-endemic countries, Roll Back Malaria partners, and donors to put extra efforts into tracking progress toward universal coverage and use of effective interventions by 2010, near-zero deaths by 2015, and the gradual elimination and eradication of malaria.

In recent years, many partners have stepped up efforts and joined together to scale up the use of life-saving malaria interventions, especially in Africa.

In several countries where millions of life-saving interventions have been provided, fewer malaria-related illnesses and deaths are being reported. Important progress has been made, but access to and use of the interventions needs to increase dramatically to meet the Millennium Development Goals, according to WHO's World Malaria Report 2009.

KEMRI contributes to malaria control largely through the Kemri-Wellcome trust programme, the KEMRI/CDC malaria programme and the Centre for Biotechnology Research and Development. These departments work closely with the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation and are expanding activities for Kenya-wide impact. KEMRI also works in close collaboration with other local and international and public and private partners. In addition, KEMRI conducts multidisciplinary research to understand malaria better and develop safe, effective interventions for its prevention and control.

How Can Malaria Be Prevented?

For people living in malaria-endemic areas, an integrated package of effective interventions ۥ insecticide-treated bed nets, effective anti-malarial drugs to treat malaria illness (artemisinin-based combination therapy), intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women, and indoor residual spraying where appropriate ۥ can significantly reduce the impact of malaria.People traveling to malaria-endemic areas should consult their health provider and receive a prescription for the right anti-malarial medication for their destination, as well as advice on how to prevent mosquito bites.