Effort would eradicate malaria in 7 years

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- United Nations officials have announced a campaign intended to eradicate malaria during the next seven years, using more than $1.4 billion in private funding.

The money will come from philanthropies, international organizations and corporations, The Washington Post reported Thursday. At a United Nations summit to unveil a Global Malaria Action Plan, world leaders said they believe the number of malaria deaths can fall from more than 1 million annually to zero by 2015.

Malaria, which is caused by a parasite and transmitted to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes, is the single greatest cause of death for the world's children, the newspaper reported.

"We are getting closer to containing this scourge," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said. "How is this happening? With a path-breaking public-private coalition, solid science, better statistics and precise financing, with the coordination of the right countries and partners and above all with the leadership."

Among the funding commitments announced: $1.1 billion from the World Bank; $168.7 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fund research on a new generation of malaria vaccines; $2 million from Ted Turner's United Nations Foundation to deliver insecticide-treated bed nets to more than 630,000 people; and $100 million from corporations to extend a malaria prevention program across the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.