First, the big news: Malaria deaths have decreased over 10% since just last year, with 781,000 malaria deaths recorded in 2009. This number is still much too high, but denotes a swift—and accelerating—pace in the race to save lives.

This report demonstrates that investment in malaria yields real results—“the best seen in decades,” according to Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization—but also that progress is fragile. The world must sustain these gains and remain vigilant in the face of setbacks in some countries, insecticide resistance and ineffective medicines. “Many considered the target [of ending malaria deaths] impossibly ambitious,” said Chan. “We are nearly there.”

This report contains exciting updates about the fight against malaria, including:

• By the end of this year, 289 million mosquito nets will have reached families in sub-Saharan Africa since 2008. That puts the world on track to reach the UN Secretary-General’s goal of universal coverage by mid-2011.
• 158 million courses of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) were administered, up from 11.2 million in 2005.
• 10% of Africa’s at-risk population was protected by Indoor Residual Spraying.

Additionally, in 2010, the WHO officially recommended using Rapid Diagnostic Tests to properly diagnose and treat malaria. In 2009, 35% of suspected malaria cases were confirmed with an RTD in 2009, up from 5% in 2000.

As the world moves forward, a focus on diagnosing fevers as malaria becomes a greater priority, to ensure that proper medicines are used to treat the disease efficiently and effectively. As always, Malaria No More will work with our partners in the malaria community and families across Africa to end malaria deaths once and for all.

This past Saturday, Cameroon’s mosquito net distribution officially commenced at a packed stadium in the country’s capital city. This event was an historic moment for Cameroon and included speeches from the Prime Minister Philemon Yang, Ministry of Health Andre Mama Fouda and the World Health Organization, as well as performances by Cameroon’s leading music artists and a national demonstration on the hanging and use of a mosquito net.

Malaria No More is proud to be part of Cameroon’s movement to “Knock Out Malaria” (or “K.O. Palu”), a communications campaign to support the distribution, by leveraging our NightWatch program. NightWatch, developed with Lalela Project and piloted in Senegal, brings together the best in Cameroonian music and business to get a message about malaria out in an entirely new way.

Starting with the simple message “It’s 9pm — are you sleeping under your mosquito net tonight?” the nightly reminder campaign features the voices of Cameroonian stars like Richard Bona, Lady Ponce and Petit Pays on television, radio and SMS. The NightWatch program in Cameroon is made possible by the generous support of the ExxonMobil Foundation, a long-standing leader in the malaria fight, and MTN Cameroon, which is leveraging its in-country channels to get the word out.

“On sait quoi faire…” That’s French for “we know what to do,” the rallying lyrics of Cameroon’s new anthem against malaria that rang throughout the stadium on Saturday. From the 75-year-old traditional musician to the young hip hop artists and football star Alexandre Song, the 5,000-strong crowd cheered and sang along with the artists as the event was broadcast on national television. During the performance, young children joined the singers on stage, a great reminder of who this campaign is serving: future generations.

Thanks to the dedicated work of countless partners, 8.7 million life-saving mosquito nets will be distributed throughout Cameroon in the coming weeks and months, protecting over 17 million people from Cameroon’s biggest killer.

We know what to do. Together, let’s Knock Out Malaria.

You can take a first swing at knocking out malaria by listening to the anti-malaria anthem, currently airing on TV and radio stations across the country HERE.

The good news, however, is that the malaria community is not taking this news lying down. ACTs are the best tool out there to treat malaria—and the world is putting up its collective dukes to fight off the danger.

In one corner…the malaria parasite, an historical foe that is determined to outfox the obstacles the world puts in its way and continue to wreak havoc.

In the other corner…a vigilant and resolute malaria community, led by the World Health Organization, unwilling to give the parasite any opportunity to flex its muscles.

The Global Plan for Artemisinin Resistance Containment, published this month by the WHO and Roll Back Malaria Partnership, provides a blueprint for how we can stay a step ahead of the parasite and save lives from this preventable and treatable disease:

1. Stop the spread of resistance parasites.
2. Increase monitoring and surveillance to evaluate the threat of artemisnin resistance
3. Improve access to diagnostics and rational treatment with ACTs
4. Invest in artemisinin resistance-related research
5. Motivate action and mobilize resources

Great progress has been made, but now it’s time to separate the men from the plasmodium, stay ahead of resistance and squash this bug for good.