Malaria report launched as country issues alert

Malaria is killing more than 3,000 African children every day and continues to be a major impediment to development on the continent, a new report launched in the Kenyan capital Nairobi revealed on Friday. The report "Malaria in Africa-2003", jointly produced by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), said the malaria death toll in Africa was "outrageously high". It stressed the need for access to new effective anti-malarial drugs for those at risk and an increased use of highly effective insecticide treated nets. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Friday presided over the report's launch, part of the global "Roll Back Malaria" initiative launched in 1998. The report comes just days after the Kenyan government issued a high malaria alert throughout the country. Health Minister Charity Ngilu noted that malaria affected up to 70 percent of the country's population and killed 72 children daily. "The problem is further complicated by the re-emergence of malaria epidemics in areas previously not known to experience the disease, especially in the highlands. During such times, a lot of lives are lost," Ngilu said.