"WHO (World Health Organization) is releasing the first ever guidance on procuring safe and efficient anti-malarial medicines. The guidelines will help countries select and obtain effective, good quality medicines and save lives by improving the way patients are diagnosed and treated" (WHO).
New guidelines recommend "the use of diagnostic tests and a new artemisinin-based combination therapy". Robert Newman, "director of the WHO global malaria" program, said "It is time to move away from the idea that everyone with a fever is suspected to have malaria" (Bernama).
Tests to determine whether or not malaria is the febrile culprit are necessary to prevent further drug-resistant malaria from developing. However, reliable tests are expensive and unavailable in rural villages, where they are most needed. "The WHO. . . recommended the rural health clinics, where microscopes are often unavailable, use Rapid Diagnostic Tests because they are easy for community health workers to handle" (Bernama).
"Each year there are 250 million cases of malaria and 860,000 deaths as a result. Approximately 85 percent of the deaths are children" (Bernama).
Malaria treatment guidelines: http://www.who.int/malaria/publications/atoz/9789241547925/en/index.html
Bernama. "WHO releases new malaria treatment guidelines." 10 March 2010. http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsworld.php?id=481148
WHO. "Improving malaria diagnosis and treatment." 09 March 2010. http://www.who.int/en/
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