Malaria in Our World

Malaria has plagued the world throughout history. The disease that stretches to throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East has even appeared in traces of dinosaur remains. From the Egyptians mummies to President George Washington to the armies of Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan, malaria has left its mark upon the human history. Scientists believe that one in every two people that has ever lived, died of malaria. [1]

Malaria wreaks havoc across the globe. Fifty percent of the world population is at risk for malaria. Half a billion people fall ill to malaria every single year. One to three million of these people die. Those most susceptible to malaria are people with weakened immune systems: young children, pregnant mothers, and their unborn babies.

Malaria is extremely prevalent in Africa. Malaria is the number one cause of death in children under age five.[2] The warm African climate is the most nurturing climate for the world’s most deadly strain of malaria: Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria takes the worst toll on those who do not have the resources to prevent it or treat it. Those most affected by malaria are the rural poor. Miles from pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals, it is difficult to obtain preventative medicine, which is often too expensive to buy anyway.[3] And once a child falls ill, it is an odyssey and race against time to reach medical assistance.

Thousands upon thousands of years of malaria. It would seem that the problem must have been eradicated—certainly some solution would have been discovered. shockingly, malaria affects more people than it ever has. It is endemic to 106 countries. And over just one generation, the malaria death toll has doubled.[4]

Malaria very much still exists. It exists particularly in some of the world’s poorest countries.[5] For decades it has been greatly neglected, most likely because it has been eradicated in the world’s more prosperous countries. But aid agencies and governments have in the last several years have begun to confront the catastrophic effect that malaria has on the world’s population.[6]

[1] Finkel, Michael. “Bedlam in the Blood.” National Geographic. July 2007.

[2] “The Disease.” Malaria No More. 2008. 8 Jan 2008. <http://www.slate.com/id/2164896/>.

[3] “The Disease.” Malaria No More. 2008. 8 Jan 2008. <http://www.slate.com/id/2164896/>.

[4] Finkel, Michael. “Bedlam in the Blood.” National Geographic. July 2007.

[5] “Malaria.” World Health Organization. 2008. 31 Dec. 2007. <http://www.who.int/topics/malaria/en/>.

[6] Finkel, Michael. “Bedlam in the Blood.” National Geographic. July 2007.