World Malaria day — A Day to Act

25 April is a day to commemorate global efforts to control malaria. The theme of the fourth World Malaria Day - Achieving Progress and Impact - heralds the international community's renewed efforts make progress towards zero malaria deaths by 2015.

Malaria stakeholders will continue to report on the remaining challenges to reach the 2010 target of universal coverage of malaria treatment and prevention, as called for by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.

World Malaria Day represents a chance for all of us to make a difference. Whether you are a government, a company, a charity or an individual, you can roll back malaria and help generate broad gains in health and human development.

Reducing the impact of malaria is key to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, agreed by every United Nations Member State. These include not only combating the disease itself, but also goals related to women's and children's rights and health, access to education and the reduction of extreme poverty.

Hundreds of RBM partners - governments, international organizations, companies, academic and research institutions, foundations, NGOs and individuals - are already gaining ground against malaria. Diverse partner initiatives are guided by a single strategy, outlined in the Global Malaria Action Plan.

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The 2011 Achieving Progress and Impact theme invites the malaria community to share progress and impact made to date in order to encourage further action and investment against this disease.

We must identify the barriers that impede the implementation of the Global Malaria Action Plan. These include resource gaps to scale up interventions; produce and deliver nets and treatments; and develop endemic countries' capacity to control malaria. We must also promote new initiatives and solutions and assess their impact by monitoring malaria cases.

Help mark this year by highlighting your progress and count the strides we collectively make towards eventually eliminating malaria. Make the lives of every man, woman and child count