The global campaign to fight malaria is appealing for $3.2 billion to try to reach the U.N. goal of “near-zero” deaths from the mosquito-borne disease by 2015. There has been “great progress” in reducing malaria deaths using bed-nets, insecticide spray and drugs, said Ray Chambers, the U.N. secretary-general's special envoy for malaria. He cited a World Health Organization report in December, which used figures from 2010, saying malaria deaths had decreased by over one-third. Since then, he said at a news conference Monday, the world has delivered 160 million additional bed-nets “so we expect the number of deaths to be much less now.” Ray Chambers said that in the last six years, the campaign to fight malaria has raised over $6 billion. “Now we have to raise $3.2 billion to get us to the point of having a chance to be at near zero deaths by 2015,” he added. Princess Astrid of Belgium, a special representative for the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, told the press conference ahead of World Malaria Day on Wednesday that 90 percent of malaria cases occur in Africa. “Every time I meet patients, my main message is malaria is preventable and treatable but prevention and treatment require tremendous efforts and funding,” she said.
