Malaria: A Devastating Public Heath Concern

"The foundation’s grantees are working in many areas to reduce the burden of malaria on the world’s poorest countries. Their work includes the development of vaccines to prevent the disease and large-scale efforts to control malaria by making better use of existing tools." [1]

Gates Foundation

In October 2005 the Gates Foundation announced that it would donate $258 million to research on malaria.  The Gates Foundation says that, “We support efforts to prevent and treat diseases and conditions that meet three criteria: (1) they cause widespread illness and death in developing countries; (2) they represent the greatest inequities in health between developed and developing countries; and (3) they receive inadequate attention and funding.”[1]  According to the Gates Foundation, malaria fits this profile.  The Gates Foundation focuses their efforts on developing a vaccine to prevent the disease, and using existing tools more effectively to control malaria.  Their ultimate goal is eradication of the disease, while many other organizations have shifted their priorities from disease eradication to disease control.  They are primarily a grant awarding institution.  Among those groups funded are a variety of groups such as the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and the Malaria Vaccine Initiative at PATH.  They emphasize the need for more than one strategy to be implemented at one time.  The Gates Foundation is infusing millions of dollars into the fight against malaria.  In different segments of their website and also within links for different initiatives, they present easily accessible ways to donate.  Another key aim of the Gates Foundation in their stand against malaria is to build commitment and awareness among the scientific communities and the general public. 

The Gates Foundation through its interactive website creates an aura of presenting a problem and then a way towards a solution. As soon as they mention the negative impacts of the increasing number of mosquitoes and parasites that are resistant to the current pesticides and drugs, they explain how further research can overcome these problems and then outline the current grants that are making this research possible.  They place their hope in the discovery of malaria vaccines, new drug treatments, the use of antimalarial drugs to prevent the disease, and tools such as insecticide treated bed nets (INTs) and insecticides to prevent transmission.