Imagine if the 9/11 attacks occurred every day in America. But in Africa, this is a daily reality, with more than 3,000 perishing per day due to malaria. In what was thought to be impossible just two years ago, an ambitious new Global Malaria Action Plan was created this month dedicated to eliminating malaria by 2015. Headed by philanthropists and organizations worldwide, the initiative has already garnered over $3 billion in pledges.

According to the World Health Organization, Malaria claims more lives than tuberculosis, AIDS, measles and leprosy combined. Only 7 percent of East Africa's population lives in low risk or malaria-free areas. Because of these harrowing conditions, the Global Malaria Action Plan has committed to reducing deaths "almost zero" within the next seven years by taking preventative measures such as wider distribution of bed nets, indoor spraying, improving quality of diagnosis and treatment, and heightening the development of new vaccines.

Malaria is not just a disease commonly associated with poverty, but also a cause of poverty and a major barrier to economic development. With the number of malaria deaths threatening 1 million a year - most of them young children - the infectious disease that is transmitted from mosquito bites has become an alarming concern.

Beyond the devastating human toll, malaria is a daily fear for Africans. BYU graduate Nicole Shepherd, 24, from Shaker Heights, Ohio, spent her summer of 2007 as a humanitarian volunteer in a small rural village in Ethiopia. Shepherd faced case after case of trembling, fever stricken children too weak to stand in long lines lacing around a makeshift clinic.

According to Shepherd, a vaccine per child costs around 150 Ethiopian birr, about $15, which is also the average monthly salary of a typical Ethiopian family. Many times treatment isn't accessible or often requires a long, cramped bus ride. "The sacrifice simply isn't feasible for most families," she said.

Additionally, most families lack the education of how to help prevent malaria. "If you were to show up at their home after delivering a net, you may find that they are using it to detain their goats or for drying dishes or something," Shepherd said. "To eliminate malaria on an entire continent is no small task. It's going to take a lot more than dropping nets from the sky."

Nonetheless, the Global Malaria Action Plan is ready to face the battle, aiming to collect more than $6 billion in worldwide donations by 2010. The plan will instantly allot $2.86 towards vaccines, and up to $900 million each year after that for more research on vaccines, drugs and other new preventative tools. Funding is provided by private donors and various corporations, with the largest contributors being the Global Funds to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria ($1.6 billion); the World Bank ($1.1 billion); and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($168.7 million).

"Goals need to be set this high," said BYU health science professor Gene Cook. Whether or not the goal is entirely feasible, it's often found that setting higher goals return higher achievements, Cook said. "All the effort being invested in discovering new vaccines could drastically cut down fatalities and really make a difference," he said.

Organizations like HELP International provide students at BYU and other schools to take part in educating and assisting communities around the world. 21-year-old BYU graduate Ashley Rogers from Mesa, Ariz., was one of HELP International's two country directors in Uganda this summer.

"It seemed like everyone we met had malaria at some point," Rogers said. "Many times getting treatment was a matter of feeding your family or saving your baby. They are desperate to find a way to stop it."

Copyright Brigham Young University 9 Oct 2008