Malaria Fight Gets $3B Booster Shot

Dozens of countries poised to eliminate disease

(NEWSER) - Countries across the globe are making giant strides against malaria, the World Health Organization says: The number of deaths from the disease has dropped more than 20% over the last 10 years, and a third of the 108 countries where the illness is endemic could be rid of it in the next decade, the BBC reports. Some 15 million more deaths could be avoided by 2015 if health targets keep being achieved, experts say. More»

He contracted it during a visit to Sudan

(NEWSER) - Lots of celebrities do philanthropy, but George Clooney's actually suffering in the line of do-goodery—the actor contracted malaria while on a recent trip to Sudan, People reports. However, he's fully cured after a 10-day convalescence, said a spokesman. Clooney was in Sudan ahead of its vote on southern independence. More»

It's harder than it looks

(NEWSER) - From his dalliances with women to his "tan" Obama jokes , Silvio Berlusconi has done a lot of things that might make you want to throw him far, far away. But Bono (yep, that Bono) is most angry at Italy's poor record on delivering pledged aid to Africa—and he wants the Italian prime minister "hurled" right out of the G8. To make his point, his lobbying group, One, has introduced "Hurl Berl," a game which allows you to do, well, exactly that. Try it here . More»

(NEWSER) - Diarrhea kills 1.6 million children under 5 every year—more than AIDS or malaria—and gets a fraction of the funding. But a deceptively simple new treatment may mark a breakthrough, Time reports. Zinc supplements appear to dramatically decrease diarrhea-related deaths—one afflicted village in Mali hasn’t had a single death since the pills arrived. Zinc “has totally taken off,” a researcher says. “It looks like real medicine and is not given out for free.” More»

We've made progress—now don't let economy destroy it

(NEWSER) - Carla Bruni-Sarkozy gets in the op-ed game today, urging G8 leaders who are converging on L’Aquila, Italy, to continue the commitment their predecessors made 8 years ago to fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. The earlier initiative helped the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria save some 4 million people, the French first lady says in a piece in the Guardian. Now, leaders must not let the economic crisis dismantle the life-saving program. “We have made inspiring and dramatic progress, but this journey has just begun.” More»