AFRICA: WHO says US $2 billion needed to fight malaria

WHO said on Wednesday that an estimated US $2 billion would be required to in a new drive to combat global malaria. WHO spokesperson Tuoyo Okorosobo told IRIN on Wednesday the new global campaign, championed by WHO Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland, would start in sub-Saharan Africa which had the highest number of sufferers: "Of course this is just an estimate, but yes, we are looking at a figure of about two billion US dollars." Speaking from the Mozambique capital, Maputo, where officials from around Southern Africa gathered this week to discuss the elimination of the mosquito-borne disease in the sub-continent, he said the aim was "to develop a consensus so that WHO's Roll Back Malaria (RBM) initiative can be put into practice". RBM, the spokesperson, said was aimed at not only helping countries control malaria, but also at helping improve health care services for malaria sufferers. RBM is a joint effort between WHO, the UN's Development Programme (UNDP), the UN's Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank.