Earlier this month, as I travelled through the West African nation of Liberia, I considered what it would take to permanently defeat the malaria epidemic, one of the world’s deadliest diseases. Malaria is a tricky opponent: nearly half of the world’s population is at risk, and it’s spread by the unassuming but ubiquitous mosquito. Malaria causes fever and death if left untreated, and kills approximately half a million people each year. In Africa, it’s the leading cause of death for children under five.
Despite these grim figures, there is a lot to celebrate when it comes to malaria prevention. According to the World Health Organization, new cases of malaria around the world have decreased by 37% in the past 15 years and death from malaria has decreased by 65% among young children. READ MORE OF THIS STORY
