About

Malaria
The Issue
M a l a r i a i s one of the world’s greatest threats to children. Though entirely preventable and
treatable, it is a leading cause of death and illness—mostly among young children and pregnant
women. Malaria flourishes in more than 100 countries and is transmitted by a common mosquito.
Approximately fifty percent of the world lives with the routine threat of malaria. Malaria largely
affects the poor. It slows economic development, perpetuating the cycle of poverty. And malaria
becomes even more deadly when accompanied by malnutrition and AIDS.

The Facts
M a l a r i a i s a life-threatening parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. Today
approximately 50 percent of the world’s population, most of whom live in the world’s poorest
countries, is at risk of malaria.

In many developing nations, malaria is one of the leading threats to a child’s life, resulting in an
estimated 750,000 child deaths per year globally. Each year, malaria kills nearly 1 million people—
approximately 85 percent of whom are children—and infects an estimated 250 million individuals.
Malaria is the fourth leading cause of child death around the world; in sub-Saharan Africa, it is a
leading cause of death for children. Tragically, malaria causes 2,000 child deaths per day in Africa,
more than double the number of children per day who die from AIDS. Malaria kills a child every
40 seconds.

Malaria results in 8 percent of the total deaths worldwide of children younger than 5, or
approximately 750,000 children younger than 5 die from malaria each year. Many children who
survive an episode of severe malaria may also suffer from learning impairments or brain damage.
Pregnant women and their unborn children are also particularly vulnerable to malaria.

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Malaria symptoms appear about 9 to 14 days after the bite of an infected mosquito. Typically,
malaria produces fever, headache, vomiting, and other flu-like symptoms. If drugs are not available
for treatment or the parasites are resistant to them, the infection can progress rapidly to become
life-threatening. Malaria can kill by infecting and destroying red blood cells and by clogging the
capillaries that carry blood to the brain or other vital organs. Malaria, together with HIV and
AIDS and TB, is one of the major public health challenges undermining development in the poorest
countries in the world.

The most common malaria species in Africa, Plasmodium falciparum, is estimated to cause as
many as 10,000 maternal deaths each year and contributes to maternal anemia, spontaneous
abortions, neonatal deaths, and low birth-weight babies. Malaria is associated with 8 percent to 14
percent of all low birth-weight babies.

In addition to the personal impact, malaria has a broad impact on communities. Malaria accounts
for $12 billion in lost economic productivity each year in sub-Saharan Africa. In some countries
with a very heavy malaria burden, malaria may account for as much as 40 percent of public
health expenditure, 30 percent to 50 percent of inpatient admissions, and up to 60 percent of
outpatient visits.

Malaria further threatens individuals vulnerable to other major diseases. For example, malaria and
the AIDS virus are often referred to as the deadly duo—malaria makes AIDS worse and vice versa.
A person with malaria is more susceptible to contracting HIV when exposed to the virus, and
people infected with HIV are more likely to transmit the virus or become seriously ill when infected
with malaria.

The Solutions
Malaria can be prevented and treated using inexpensive, proven interventions. Simple solutions
such as sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed net, spraying insecticide inside homes, and using
the right anti-malarial drugs dramatically reduce the impact of malaria. Unfortunately, for the
hundreds of millions of people living on less than $2 per day, these life-saving interventions often
remain unaffordable and inaccessible.

One of the most effective interventions is the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets, which
prevents families from being bitten by a malaria-carrying mosquito in the first place. Studies have
shown that providing full net coverage has the potential to prevent as many as 1 million deaths
from all causes for children younger than age 5 in sub-Saharan Africa.

(Sources: State of the World’s Children 2008, UNICEF; World Hunger Series, World Food Program, 2007;
Malaria in Pregnancy, World Health Organization.)

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What You Can Do
• Pray for wisdom for decision-makers who have the power to increase resources to
fight this killer of children. Pray for health and fullness of life for those vulnerable to
malaria. Pray for the collective will to eradicate malaria, once and for all.
• Send a message to your members of Congress. Ask them to increase our contribution
to the fight against malaria.
• Donate at www.worldvisionresources.com to provide bed nets for children who have
none. Go to www.worldvisionresources.com and click on “programs and events” for
more information. Your gift of just $20 provides one family with bed nets and critical
malaria prevention education.
• Learn more about malaria at www.worldvisionresources.com and click on “programs
and events.”

Copyright © 2009 by World Vision Inc., Mail Stop 321, P.O. Box 9716, Federal Way, WA 98063-9716,
253-815-3320, wvresources@worldvision.org. All rights reserved.

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 About World Vision
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children,
families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of
poverty and injustice. Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, World Vision serves alongside the
poor and oppressed as a demonstration of God’s unconditional love for all people. We see a world
where each child experiences “fullness of life” as described in John 10:10. And we know this can
be achieved only by addressing the problems of poverty and injustice in a holistic way. That’s how
World Vision is unique: We bring 60 years of experience in three key areas needed to help children
and families thrive: emergency relief, long-term development, and advocacy. And we bring all of
our skills across many areas of expertise to each community we work in, enabling us to care for
children’s physical, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

World Vision Resources educates Christians about global poverty, inspires them to social justice,
and equips them with innovative resources to make a difference in the world. By developing
biblically based materials for educators and ministry leader on the causes and consequences of
global poverty, World Vision Resources supports the organizational mandate to move the church
in the United States to more fully embrace its biblical responsibility to serve the poor.

For more information about our resources, contact:

World Vision Resources
Mail Stop 321
P.O. Box 9716
Federal Way, WA 98063-9716
Fax: 253-815-3340
wvresources@worldvision.org

For more information about

our resources, contact:

World Vision Resources

www.worldvision.org
wvresources@worldvision.org

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