Hosted by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Summit is considering how to speed action to alleviate the poverty and human suffering caused by the disease. Every year about 400 million people suffer from malaria and more than one million die from the disease. The death toll, which is heaviest on children, women and the poor, is fueled by environmental changes and population movements resulting from political instability and civil strife. In addition, malaria is resistant to common and inexpensive medicines, mosquitoes are able to resist insecticides and national health services continue to face serious economic difficulties. Every pregnant woman receives intermittent treatment for malaria.
All families have access to effective first line treatment for malaria for their young children.
All families have access to health information to ensure effective preventive measures are adopted Every African child and pregnant woman should be protected from mosquito bites by regularly sleeping under a mosquito net, Bellamy argued, adding that the greatest setback the RBM effort has experienced is the inability of families to afford the cost of nets due to the high taxes levied on them. Bellamy urged African governments to abolish taxes and import duties on mosquito nets to make them affordable to poor families. She said that a high priority should be placed on the effort to provide every child and pregnant woman in Africa with treated mosquito nets. But now we have a clear-cut opportunity. Together we can prove that, with local participation and focused political will at all levels, leadership on behalf of children is the most effective key to progress in the new millennium.