World Malaria Day is observed every year on April 25.
Malaria is a life-threatening infection caused by mosquitoes.
Millions of people, including children, die each year due to malaria. Most deaths occur in impoverished countries around the world.
What Is World Malaria Day?
World Malaria Day is observed every year on April 25. This day of awareness and continued action was established by the World Health Organization during the World Health Assembly of 2007.
According to the WHO, “World Malaria Day is an occasion to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control.”
What Is Malaria?
Malaria is a life-threatening disease that’s spread through mosquitoes. In fact, malaria is consistently one of the deadliest diseases, despite being eradicated in many places around the globe.
Because the infection is caused by a parasite, it does not spread from person to person. While malaria is completely preventable and curable, it still impacts many around the world today.
According to the most recent numbers published by the WHO, there were an estimated 263 million malaria cases and 597,000 malaria deaths globally in 2023.
What Are the Symptoms & Effects of Malaria?
Malaria symptoms can appear within a few weeks of being bitten by an infected mosquito. The main symptoms of malaria include fever, chills and headache. However, there are more severe symptoms, including confusion, fatigue, difficulty breathing and even seizures.
Sadly, severe infections can lead to death. For example, according to the WHO, P. falciparum malaria can progress quickly and lead to death within 24 hours.
What Children Are Impacted the Most by Malaria?
While some countries are malaria-free, others face millions of malaria cases and deaths each year. This is because most cases of malaria are found in low-income countries that are under-equipped to prevent and treat the disease.
According to the WHO, the African region carries most of the global malaria burden. In 2023, 94% of all malaria cases and 95% all malaria deaths occurred in Africa. And sadly, children under the age of five accounted for around 76% of all deaths in the African region.
Nations that have successfully beaten malaria did so through a combination of advanced medication and treatments, the prevention of mosquito bites and the elimination of infected mosquitoes. However, impoverished countries simply don’t have the resources to do the same.
Many children in these countries don’t have the means to purchase things like mosquito nets or seek medical care when infections occur. This leaves them at serious risk of the damaging effects of malaria, including death.
How Compassion Protects At-Risk Children From Malaria
No child should lose their life due to a preventable and treatable illness like malaria. Through our Malaria Intervention initiative, we’re doing our part to protect at-risk children from diseases like malaria, the Zira virus and dengue fever. How?
Medical intervention: We provide anti-malarial drugs, IV medication, transfusions and breathing treatments where necessary to prevent malaria and treat it should a child become infected.
Necessary prevention: We deliver mosquito bed nets treated with mosquito insecticide to children in need as well as resources to clean ponds and standing water where necessary. Since many mosquito bites happen when a person is sleeping, a bed net is a cost-effective way to protect children and their families.
Education: We teach children and families how to prevent mosquito breeding areas, helping them protect their homes.
This World Malaria Day, you can help us protect at-risk children too. By donating to the Malaria Intervention initiative, you’ll equip a local church in an impoverished community to deliver life-saving prevention and treatment to the children and families around them.
