What will be the next region of the world to eradicate malaria? The award ceremony “Malaria Champions of the Americas,” to take place on 5 November will be able to respond to this question. In this region, malaria is endemic in 21 countries, all of them in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, Latin America is on track to eradicate malaria from their territories. Between 2000 and 2012 the morbidity of the disease was reduced 60% and malaria deaths have fallen by 72%. Moreover, 13 countries have reached the Millennium Development Goals to reduce malaria (MDG), and six of them are in the pre- elimination phase, which means that are close to the goal of eradicating the disease.
These and other topics will be highlighted on Malaria Day in the Americas 2015 celebration on November 5th, hosted by the Pan American Health Organization in Washington, DC. The Forum of Malaria Networks and Advocates and the regional launch of the Action and Investment to defeat Malaria, which will include the awards ceremony “Champions of Malaria in the Americas” with the support from the United Nations Foundation, the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, and the Center for Communication Programs at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Three countries were nominated for the title of Champion of Malaria in the Americas 2015 – Brazil, Honduras and Paraguay (watch the videos relating to campaigns in these countries):
Brazil – On the road to eliminate malaria: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iswRZQQ1eks
Honduras – On the road to eliminate malaria: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1HyugBiZI0
Paraguay – On the road to eliminate malaria: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y32NjBqdTI
Scientific and technical literature
BIREME/PAHO/WHO recommends access to documents and sources of scientific and technical information in the Virtual Health Library (VHL) related to Malaria Day in the Americas 2015.
Links of interest
Situation on the Millennium Development Goals on Malaria
PAHO/WHO page on Malaria Campions 2015
PAHO/WHO page on Malaria Day in the Americas 2015
Study on neglected diseases wins Nobel Prize on Medicine (in Portuguese)
