September 2009

Where Have All the Malaria Patients Gone?

A comment in CNN’s Vital Signs, written by Dr. Tachi Yamada, President of the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, describes the enormous impact that malaria control efforts have had in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Yamada traveled with the Director General of WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan, and the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria, Mr. Ray Chambers, to observe Africa’s fight against malaria. Dr. Yamada was especially impressed by the progress in Zanzibar, which has been so remarkable that the disease has been virtually eliminated in just five years.