Voice 1
Hello, I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Mike Procter. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The well-known sound of a mosquito. These insects cause more human death than any other living creature - because they carry diseases. Mosquitoes can cause yellow fever, dengue fever, West Nile virus, elephantiasis, encephalitis... but the most famous mosquito-borne disease is malaria. And it caused the most deaths.
Voice 2
Malaria is caused by a parasite. A parasite is an organism that lives in another organism. The malaria parasite lives in the blood of mosquitoes and of humans.
People cannot catch malaria from other people. It needs the mosquito to carry it from person to person. There are hundreds of different kinds of mosquito, but only one kind carries malaria to humans. Malaria is common only in places where this mosquito lives - for example in Africa and much of Asia.
Voice 1
Almost forty [40] percent of the world’s population is at risk from malaria. Over a million [1,000,000] people die from it every year. Most are children. Many others are pregnant women.
Voice 2
Malaria affects pregnant women more than other women. In some places, malaria kills ten percent of women in pregnancy and childbirth.
Voice 1
And yet malaria can be cured, and it can be prevented. One way to prevent malaria is to use mosquito nets. Mosquitoes bite mainly at night. A mosquito net is a thin layer of material that hangs over the bed. The material is treated with chemicals that kill mosquitoes. Mosquitoes cannot get through this material.
Voice 2
In the year 2000, leaders of forty-four [44] African states met together. Their countries were badly affected by malaria. The leaders set targets aimed at reducing the spread and effect of malaria. And, they decided on a special day to remember their promises. They chose the twenty fifth [25th] of April. And they called it, “Africa Malaria Day”.
Voice 1
The last Africa Malaria Day was in 2007. This year it becomes World Malaria Day. Why? Well, in May 2007, health experts from one hundred and ninety two [192] countries met together. They heard reports about the state of malaria in the world. And they found that people’s knowledge about the disease was still very poor. So, they thought they should turn the African centred event into a worldwide event. This would encourage people everywhere to become involved in the fight against malaria.
Voice 2
The fight against malaria continues all year. But having a special day helps in several ways. It brings malaria into the news, and so helps people everywhere to better understand it. It provides a time when health organisations meet together, learn from one another and find ways to work together. And they learn about new developments in science that can help the fight against malaria.
Voice 1
World Malaria Day is April the twenty-fifth [25th]. It is a worldwide event.
Voice 3
In Uganda, many people will be swimming against malaria! The swimmers will raise money and knowledge to help fight malaria.
Voice 2
In the USA, a special radio programme will be broadcast to help Americans learn more about malaria.
Voice 3
A conference in Germany will be making plans for the next seven years in the world-wide fight against malaria.
Voice 1
In Zambia, health officials from southern Africa will meet. And a group of health workers are travelling all the way down the Zambesi River, teaching people how to prevent malaria.
Voice 2
So far, the fight against malaria has concentrated on control and prevention. Controlling malaria means helping people and communities who are already affected by it. Preventing the disease means helping people to avoid getting it.
Voice 1
However, some people believe that the fight against malaria should not stop there. They have the dream that one day, malaria will completely disappear! Bill Gates is one such person. He is the man who started the Microsoft computer company. And he is one of the richest men in the world. Bill Gates is using some of his money to invest in research and development against malaria. In October 2007, he and his wife organised a Malaria Forum - a meeting of malaria experts. There, Bill Gates invited people to aim high - to destroy malaria completely! After the meeting he wrote:
Voice 4
“This week an amazing group of people...came together...to discuss what they can do to stop malaria. My wife Melinda and I presented an idea to them. We asked them to begin designing a programme to end malaria. Not just to control or reduce it. But to work toward a time when no one on earth is infected with malaria - and no mosquitoes carry the disease.”
Voice 1
Margaret Chan is the head of the World Health Organisation. She attended Bill Gates’ Malaria Forum. She welcomed Bill Gates’ ideas, and promised that WHO would support them.
Voice 2
In 2007, The United Nations Children’s organisation, UNICEF, published an encouraging report. It stated that many countries were experiencing great success in preventing the spread of malaria. This progress has changed the question in some people’s minds. It is no longer - can we stop malaria? Now they ask, when will we stop malaria?
Voice 1
We have heard lots of information about malaria. But it is easy to forget that - in the end - malaria is a tragedy for individual humans. Here is Ruby to talk about one of her friends, Heather.
Voice 5
“Heather was from Britain, but she went to live in Mozambique. She was manager of a farm store. People from many villages came to her store to buy grain. Heather loved her life in Africa. She caught malaria a few times. It made her very sick. But each time she recovered. She returned to the United Kingdom to visit her family. During that time, she had another health problem. So, she spent some time in hospital. Heather recovered well. She was preparing to return home. But suddenly, Heather became sick. Something inside her had gone very wrong. Whatever it was, her body’s defence system could not deal with it. Malaria had left it weak and less effective. And very suddenly, Heather died. Doctors were shocked. I was very sad. And it made me think about how malaria destroys so many lives around the world. Melinda Gates said: “The only way to end death from malaria is to end malaria”. I will be remembering World Malaria Day on the twenty-fifth of April - and I hope you will be too.”
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