The international aid group Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) is recommending that tests and treatment for malaria be made available at no cost to patients in Africa, the Associated Press reports today.

The report argues that free access to testing and drugs will exponentially increase the number of people who seek treatment for malaria, thus reducing the number of annual deaths. Recommendations in the report are based on MSF’s experience with hundreds of thousands of patients in Chad, Sierra Leone and Mali.

The Roll Back Malaria Partnership’s Global Malaria Action Plan released last week (see previous post) includes a stipulation of 1.5 billion RDTs as one of the first steps in its global strategy to achieve universal coverage of malaria control interventions by 2010. The Roll Back Malaria Partnership works closely with MSF but did not contribute to this report.

Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) help determine if a patient has malaria and can help doctors prescribe effective medication. Proper diagnosis is integral to guarding against drug resistance, which may build up if anti-malaria drugs are habitually given to treat non-malarial fevers on a mass scale.

“I’m not here as a rock star. I’m here as a fan. I’m a fan of Malaria No More…” –Bono

So began the 2008 MDG Malaria Summit in New York today…and it only got better from there. The biggest single funding day for malaria included announcements for over $3 billion to combat malaria and rid the world of this deadly disease.  Speakers Bill Gates, Gordon Brown, President Kikwete of Tanzania, President Kagame of Rwanda, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan and many others participated in a lively discussion of how far the world has come in the fight against malaria, how far it still has to go and how we’re going to get there.

In addition to the new funding announcements from the World Bank ($1.1 billion) and Global Fund Round 8 ($1.62 billion), the malaria community announced the Global Malaria Action Plan, a community blueprint for the future of malaria control from elimination to eradication.

Malaria No More co-founder Ray Chambers (now UN Special Envoy for Malaria) hosted the event and Malaria No More Chairman and News Corporation President and COO Peter Chernin served as co-moderator.

We have the means, the plan and the leadership to break malaria’s deathgrip on Africa. Today was a huge day and a major step forward–now it’s time to turn to action.

The World Health Organization came out with its World Malaria Report with the news that the number of annual malaria cases were vastly fewer than it had previously stated. But it’s not time to pop that champagne just yet. Turns out, the change is mainly due to a new way of calculating data–and almost 50% of the reduction is due to India using the new method.

The good news is that with increased political will and funding to turn back the tide of this terrible disease, improved reporting methods will yield more sophisticated results in the future.  By keeping the pressure on world leaders, organizations, businesses and individuals, we can work with this new data to make educated and forward-thinking decisions to stop malaria in its tracks.

To read the WHO’s World Malaria Report 2008, click here.

To read a response to the report’s findings from Malaria No More Co-Founder and UN Special Envoy for Malaria, Ray Chambers, click here.

Malaria No More has unveiled its new look with a redesign of its web site! Be sure to check out new features, news and details about our work in the areas of Communications, Resources and Investments, all of which contribute to our ultimate goal: ending malaria deaths.

Our new site is designed to inform anyone who wants to learn more about the fight against malaria and show YOU how to get involved! Go to our new Spotlight section to see what we’re up to,  explore the maps that show where we work and browse our photo and video gallery that help tell our story.

And for the latest in Malaria No More’s fight against malaria, check back regularly with the Malaria No More Blog and keep up with all our news.