Malaria killed “only 248” people

Dr Corine Karema, the National Malaria Control Programme Manager at TRAC Plus said that the battle against the disease had been won.

In 2006, about 510 people were reported to have died of malaria from about 1.5 million reported cases. And by 2007, deaths had again slid considerable.

In May, officials said malaria prevalence in the country had decreased by up to 60 percent in the last two years, indicating that the vigorous control measures have worked. The World Health Organisation confirmed the successes labeling Rwanda as one to be looked to for support.

The UN now reports that a combination of bed nets, artemisinin-based therapies and indoor spraying have brought prevalence to this point.

Government says that about four years ago, malaria was number one natural cause of death for children under the age of five. But by end of last year, it was down to number three.

Experts say malaria remains the single biggest parasite killing people when it is treatable. Every thirty seconds a child dies in Africa, killed by malaria, according to the WHO.

Estimates show that every year one million people die of malaria in the world; 90% of them are in Africa, and most of them are young children. These sad estimates by the World Health Organization show that malaria, one of the great global killers, weighs most heavily on Africa.