Fact Sheet on Malaria and Malaria R&D

• In Africa, a child dies from malaria every thirty seconds ¹
• Malaria fatalities increased in the last two decades of the 20th century
• There are at least 300 million acute cases of malaria each year, which result in more than a million deaths ²
• Approximately 90% of deaths attributed to malaria occur in Africa ³
• Malaria is Africa’s leading cause of under-five mortality and it constitutes 10% of the continent’s overall disease burden⁴
• The report estimates that investments in malaria R&D totaled $323 million in 2004 or 0.3% of total health-related R&D investments. Yet malaria’s impact on humanity is roughly 10 times that amount, accounting for 3.1% of global disease burden.
• The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provided 49% of total malaria R&D investments in 2004. NIAID provided roughly $80 million, while the Foundation provided close to $78 million.
• The public sector, comprised predominantly of government and multilateral funding agencies, provided $181 million of the 2004 investments (56% of the total). The largest public sector contributor, the US government contributed $129 million in 2004 through four departments and agencies (more than 70% of total public sector support and almost 40% of the total investment).
• The not-for-profit sector invested $103 million (32%) in 2004. Private philanthropic organizations accounted for $95 million (92%) of not-for-profit contributions.
• The for-profit (industry) sector invested $39 million (12%) of total 2004 funding. The vast majority of this funding came in the form of intramural (internal) research and development by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
• Despite the relative lack of resources, increases in funding in the last decade have led to an increase in the number of malaria control products in the pipeline and better ways to implement what we have:
• The WHO Initiative for Vaccine Research listed 23 types of malaria vaccines in various stages of development in its April 2005 vaccine R&D status report. ⁵
• New practical and inexpensive diagnostics are being developed that will help ensure that malaria is properly diagnosed.
• The antimalarial drug pipeline may be the most robust ever seen in history with the promise of new combination drugs within the next two years.
• Research into improving bed net effectiveness is bearing fruit, including longer-lasting insecticides for less frequent retreating, and improved manufacturing processes.
• ACTs and other combination therapies, packaged for ease of use, are the result of investment in product development and implementation.
• Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in infants and pregnant women is a good example of learning to use existing tools in innovative ways.