Five years ago today, Hurricane Katrina stormed through New Orleans and left the jazz capital immersed in standing water for weeks, bringing death and breeding grounds for mosquitoes and their diseases. But now, that seems like water under the bridge.

The resilient city is bouncing back to life. And everyone from George Clooney to Spike Lee to President Obama is behind the Big Easy. “Because of you,” the president declared, “New Orleans is coming back.”

We couldn’t agree more. To read more about the anniversary and President Obama’s visit, click here.

There’s been a drug bust across six East African countries. However, this drug bust is much different than the ones in the United States. The drugs confiscated in this case were fake anti-malaria drugs, vaccines and antibiotics.

According to CNN, authorities have seized 20,000 pounds of counterfeit medicine and arrested 80 people suspected of illegal trafficking in six East African nations. More than 300 premises were checked or raided in the two-month operation across Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zanzibar.

In worst case scenarios, the fake medicines can cause death, and we’re looking forward to seeing how this crack down progresses.

Today is World Mosquito Day and actress Elizabeth Banks has teamed up with MNM to announce “Mosquitoes Suck!”

“I was lucky, I had so many dreams as a kid,” says actress Elizabeth Banks. “Malaria robs more children of their dreams than any single disease in Africa. Yet, you can help change that with a $10 mosquito net.”

Elizabeth has been taking part in a series of PSAs due out this fall for MNM. In concert with the PSAs and World Mosquito Day today, we’re launching Mosquitoes Suck shirts for just $20 – $10 of every shirt sale will come back to us to help buy a anti-malarial mosquito net for someone that needs one.

Join Elizabeth and help us honor World Mosquito Day by announcing Mosquitoes Suck! Get your shirt and match the The 40 Year Old Virgin actress today: http://www.bustedtees.com/malarianomore

According to a recent UNICEF news release, “Nearly one fifth of Pakistan has been ravaged by floods that killed an estimated 1,600 people and affected 15 million in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh provinces. The flooding began more than two weeks ago in the north-west of Pakistan and has swept south across a quarter of the country. The international community is working rapidly to address the needs of those affected, but funding shortfalls are jeopardizing the humanitarian operation in the country.”

To make matters worse, WHO projects that up to 100,000 cases of malaria could occur over the next three months. That’s 62.5 times the numbers of deaths caused by the flood!

Find out how you can spread the word about malaria today.

The reason for the mysterious NYC dinner date between Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Oprah Winfrey has now been revealed.

According to a recent article, Buffett and Gates — America’s two wealthiest individuals, with a combined net worth of $90 billion, according to Forbes — and 38 other billionaires have announced their commitment to the The Giving Pledge. They include NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg, entertainment executive Barry Diller, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens, media mogul Ted Turner, David Rockefeller, film director George Lucas and investor Ronald Perelman.

The US has 400 billionaires — about 40% of the world’s total — with a combined net worth of $1.2 trillion, according to Forbes. If they all took the pledge, that would amount to at least $600 billion for charity. (Cough!)

The 40 names that have pledged so far have a combined net worth surpassing $230 billion, according to Forbes. Several of them have said they plan to give away much more than 50% of their wealth. Buffett has promised to donate more than 99% of his wealth.

Do you think Oprah will join the ranks?

Our friends at the MNM Policy Center wrote this post. The original version lives on the MNMPC blog.

The Obama Administration has released its plan to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.  The Administration has recognized the crucial nature of the MDGs and the developmental, strategic and economic importance each of that these goals mean.

The Administration has also recognized the tremendous progress to date, but points to the vast amount of work left to be done. “Enormous progress has been made so far toward meeting the MDGs, and we must recognize, celebrate, and support these achievements. Above all, credit belongs to the citizens and governments of countries that have prioritized development and invested in their people. These achievements are also testimony to the power of successful development partnerships.

But much more remains to be done. If we are to meet the ambitious objectives we have set, historic leaps in human development will be needed. For this reason, we must be even more determined, strategic, and focused on results as we chart the path to 2015.”

The Administration focuses on four key areas; Leveraging innovation, Sustainability, tracking outcomes and practicing mutual accountability. 

The Malaria Policy Center applauds the Administration’s focus on the MDGs and looks forward to seeing the results we can produce in the future.

Today, Malaria No More learned that blowing mosquitoes out of town may be as simple as switching on your household fan.

The New York Times reports in this week’s Health column, “Really?” that wind is an effective method for keeping these airborne pests from circling and landing on you, “like a windstorm keeping a plane from descent.” A breezy bedroom also diffuses the concentration of carbon dioxide you exhale, one of the major chemicals that attract mosquitoes.

In a 2003 study, entomologists at Michigan State University used traps set up in a wetland by the C.D.C. to attract mosquitoes. The more carbon dioxide the researchers released into the air, the more mosquitoes arrived at the scene. Medium and high fan-generated winds were the most effective at warding off these bothersome buzzing invaders.

Simple but true. Turning on your fan once a day keeps the mosquitoes away!

Dengue fever is invading Key West, according to a recent New York Times article. Dengue is spread by mosquitoes, and can cause fever, headaches and body aches. However, not all people infected show symptoms.

After conducting an experiment, scientist have concluded 5 percent of Key West’s population showed evidence of recent exposure to the dengue virus. The estimate was based on tests of 240 residents, of whom 13 were positive.

Officials in Key West have warned “the best way to fight the disease is to fight the mosquitoes, by wearing bug repellent, spraying pesticides and dumping anything that holds water.” The city also launched Mosquito TV, a weekly show, to mobilize residents against the pest.

Wonder if we could get Mosquito TV in our office…

In a joint op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni speak out against the detrimental effects of African taxes and tariffs on goods that help control malaria. In the midst of the 15th African Union Summit in Kampala, these two leading members of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) penned the article to encourage other African nations to help lift the burden of malaria by lifting taxes and tariffs that stand between the tools that can help end malaria and the families that so desperately need them.

Kikwete and Museveni note the incredible impact that this simple step has had in their own countries:

Several years ago, when we removed taxes and tariffs on all anti-malaria commodities, the cost of mosquito nets sold in local markets decreased, local demand for nets increased, and more small businesses entered the market to produce and supply these essential commodities. Since then, our countries have increased access to anti-malaria commodities and have become significant manufacturers of insecticide-treated nets that are exported to other African countries. Tax and tariff removal can, therefore, be good for Africa’s people and good for African entrepreneurs.

In addition, the Presidents emphasize the importance of careful and diligent quality control at customs, in order to ensure that African nations stay one step ahead of dangerous counterfeit drugs that could compromise the Continent’s success in the fight against malaria.

This op-ed—and the countless examples of leadership—demonstrates the commitment and dedication of governments across Africa to end malaria deaths by 2015 and signal a new future for a bustling Continent. With Presidents like Kikwete and Museveni leading the way, that goal is closer than ever.

Read the full article in the Wall Street Journal.

From a malaria-prevention point of view, the last thing this world needs is more mosquitoes. But that is exactly what researchers from the University of Arizona hope to see, BBC News reported last Friday.

The Arizona research team has genetically engineered the first malaria-resistant mosquito that they hope will compete with its malarial villains in the natural selection process one day soon. The researchers introduced a gene that affected the mosquito’s gut, disrupting the development of the malaria parasite and shortening the insect’s lifespan.

“Before we [release the mosquitoes], we have to somehow give them a competitive advantage over the disease-carrying insects,” said Arizona Professor Michael Riehle, a principle investigator on the project. “This is the first time that we’ve been able to completely block the parasite from developing in the mosquito.”

Could these genetically enhanced super-bugs really be released to combat their arch-nemesis the Anopheles gambiae mosquito one day? Stay tuned!