WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- Advocates marked U.S. Malaria Awareness Day Tuesday by calling for more funding to find a cure for the disease.
The day of awareness was declared last December at a White House summit with the goal of bringing attention to the disease, which kills more than 1 million people worldwide each year and is the leading cause of death for African children under the age of 5.
The death rate from malaria has skyrocketed in the past decade as the disease has become resistant to widely used treatments, health experts say.
"More funding is needed for research and development of new drugs and vaccines," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a healthcare consumer organization.
The group pointed out, the National Institutes of Health spent $98 million -- less than a third of 1 percent of its budget -- on malaria research.
