Combating Malaria (NAPSA)—Seven countries have turned the tide in the malaria epidemic. International health practitioners, policymakers and donors are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Amazon Malaria Initiative (AMI) funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that helped makeit happen. In 2008, according to the Pan American Health Organization, there were 560,221 cases of malaria in the Americas, 30 percent less than the number reported in 2007. Mortality from malaria decreased 52 percent in 2008. Officials focused malaria-combat- ing efforts in the Amazon Basin because countries there have a disproportionate share of the disease burden: 89 percentin 2008. Health ministers in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Surinameandtech- nical partners are working through the Amazon Network for the Surveillance of Antimalarial Drug Resistance (Red Amazonica para la Vigilancia de la Resistencia a los Antimalaricos, or RAVREDA) and AMI to moreeffectively contain and eliminate malaria from the region. In addition to celebrating their success and discussing key lessons learned, AMI and RAVREDAare seeking new partners. Any group that would like to be part of this work can go to www.usaidami.org.
