CIAO DATE: 01/2015
December 2014
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The malaria parasite is thought to have killed more people throughout human history than any other single cause. Over the last decade, a large increase in resources for combating malaria—with the lion’s share coming from U.S. taxpayers—has resulted in dramatic reductions in malaria cases and deaths in many countries. These successes spurred the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization (WHO) to call for global eradication of malaria in 2007. The massive global investment in malaria control and elimination, and prospects for global eradication, are threatened by the emergence in the Greater Mekong Subregion of malaria parasites that have become resistant to artemisinins, the first line drug for treating malaria worldwide. This report is an update for the nontechnical reader on drug-resistant malaria, summarizing new developments, threats, and opportunities that have emerged over the last year.
Resource link: The Danger of Untreatable Malaria Is Real and Present [PDF] - 1.4M