We are determined to make that investment pay off. Malaria not only kills, it also impoverishes, suppressing economic growth in Africa by up to 1.3 percent a year, a study released last year by the World Health Organization said. But the fight against the disease is losing ground. Eradication of parasite-carrying mosquitoes with such agents as DDT carries environmental concerns. Attempts to develop a vaccine have failed.
Research is underfunded, because malaria is a relatively small problem in the developed world.
Pharmaceutical companies have limited economic incentive to develop drugs aimed at a market in the developing world. The institute will open with four lead researchers already on the faculty of the Bloomberg School, and will add three or four a year for several years, plus associated research personnel and graduate students, Sommer said. The gift funding the institute is not designated as endowment and will be spent over 10 years to maximize its impact, Sommer said. The institute is expected to attract additional funding from government and private sources, he said. Bloomberg's gift benefitted all the university's schools.