This is the VOA SpecialEnglish Development Report.
The World Health Organization and several other United Nationsagencies are calling for a major new effort to fight malaria,tuberculosis and AIDS. These three infectious diseases killed almostsix-million people last year. That is about ten percent of the totalnumber of deaths around the world last year.
The W-H-O and U-N agencies released a new report at the WorldEconomic Forum in New York City earlier this month. The documentsays that deaths around the world from malaria and tuberculosiscould be cut in half by the year Two-Thousand-Ten. It also says thenumber of deaths from AIDS could be reduced twenty-five percentwithin that same time period.
The report is called “Scaling Up the Response to InfectiousDiseases.” It calls for huge new investments in methods to preventand treat infectious diseases. Officials say money is needed forresearch and to purchase drugs. Money is also needed for devices toprevent diseases, such as bed nets and rubber condoms. Bed netsprevent mosquitoes that carry malaria from biting people while theysleep. Men wear condoms during sex to prevent the spread of AIDS.
David Heymann is the head of the infectious disease program atthe World Health Organization. He says that providing effective drugtreatments is important for improving peoples’ health and economicwell-being. Reducing disease can also help improve economic growthin developing countries.
The W-H-O report also describes successful health programs indeveloping countries. In Peru, for example, the number oftuberculosis cases was cut in half by increasing the treatment tocontrol the disease. In Vietnam, malaria was reduced ninety-sevenpercent through the use of bed nets. And in Uganda, cases of thevirus that causes AIDS were cut in half among pregnant women andchildren through the use of anti-AIDS drugs.
This new international health campaign is estimated to cost abouttwelve-thousand-million dollars a year. So far, officials say thecampaign has about two-thousand-million dollars. The W-H-O says thecampaign will need stronger relationships among governments, privateaid agencies, and drug companies to succeed.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss.