Blogging together to count out malaria

Sunday, April 25, 2010, marked the third annual World Malaria Day—and a critical moment in the fight against malaria. With less than a year left for malaria-endemic countries to reach the Roll Back Malaria 2010 targets, the united efforts of governments, nongovernmental organizations, companies, researchers, policymakers, funders, health workers, and individuals matter more than ever.

This year, MACEPA and its partners blogged from Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, and the United States at http://macepadiary.wordpress.com/ about the events leading up to World Malaria Day 2010, sharing on-the-ground perspectives and voices from the people who are helping to rid the world of this disease, one day at a time.

Members of the Rotary Club of Seattle travel to Zambia to help launch the new “Second Century” malaria control partnership on World Malaria Day.

Seattle holds World Malaria Day 2010 event

The local malaria community convened at PATH’s Seattle headquarters on Monday, April 26, to commemorate World Malaria Day with an event that featured presentations from a diverse panel of malaria experts who addressed some of the groundbreaking progress and important challenges in the fight against malaria. Topics ranged from funding allocation to developing an effective malaria vaccine and included a question-and-answer session with panelists as well as video footage of the previous week’s World Malaria Day events in Zambia.

Presentations from the following key speakers can be downloaded here:

• Rick Steketee, MACEPA Science Director, PATH
• Rob Newman, Global Malaria Program Director, WHO
• Stefan Kappe, Associate Member, Seattle BioMed
• Carol Sibley, Professor of Genome Sciences, University of Washington/ Scientific Director, WWARN
• Mark Maire, Senior Health Specialist for Infectious Disease, World Vision
• Meg DeRonghe, Director of Corporate, Government and
  Foundation Business Development, Episcopal Relief & Development

Hosted by PATH and the Washington Global Health Alliance, the event drew over 100 attendees and demonstrated the Seattle community’s high level of commitment to malaria control and the influential role that Seattle will continue to play in the fight against malaria in the years to come.

Photo: PATH/Paul Libiszowski.