Here's how to wipe malaria off the map
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A huge global commitment to reducing malaria has paid off and the goal of near zero deaths from the disease is realistic and affordable. A new article in the Guardian which cites our work on smart health targets for the post-2015 development agenda, asks ‘What are we waiting for?’
It might sound like a high price tag but there’s a huge return: reaching the 2030 goals will mean more than 10m lives saved, nearly 3bn cases averted and the potential to unlock more than $4tn in additional economic output globally. This is truly one of the “best buys” in global health.
This campaign is also one of the smartest ways to spend aid, as underscored by the recent work of the Copenhagen Consensus Center. Their expert panel, including two Nobel laureates, has identified 19 targets that represent the best value-for-money in development, offering more than $15 back on every dollar of aid that is invested.
It is no surprise that malaria is one of those targets that will do the most social good relative to costs. Every dollar spent on malaria prevention and treatment delivers $36 in social and economic benefits. Or to put it another way: every $5 mosquito net returns $180 to the economy. Surely, by anyone’s standards, that’s a convincing investment.
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