NEW YORK: A bold initiative was announced April 25 by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon brings together the many forces fighting malaria to focus on one goal: providing universal coverage of malaria-control measures in Africa, where 90 per cent of malaria cases occur, by the end of 2010.

Global health leaders stood shoulder to shoulder at UN headquarters in New York to outline a roadmap for success and rally governments, corporations, international institutions and private citizens to work toward ending malaria deaths. UNICEF, the World Heath Organization and the Malaria No More partnership are among those who will now join forces on behalf of 600 million people at risk of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.

They will work to provide universal coverage for malaria prevention and treatment by 31 December 2010 - less than 1,000 days from now. "As we're speaking, children continue to die," said UN Special Envoy for Malaria Ray Chambers. "And yet those deaths are preventable. We need to get moving because each day counts." Chambers emphasized that global efforts should focus not only on solving the malaria problem in the short term, but also on sustaining prevention and treatment so that it won't once again spiral out of control.

"We can hope to bring morbidity and mortality down to zero with the universal coverage that the Secretary-General is calling for today," he said. "If we succeed in full coverage … it's important that we stay on top of it for years thereafter, so eradication or another vaccine can come along." Added World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan: "Malaria defeated the international community many years ago.

We should not allow it to do it again." At a formal event following the press conference announcing the new initiative, Chambers was flanked by Chan, Dr Asha-Rose Migiro, UN Deputy Secretary-General; Rajat Gupta, Chairman of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria; Peter Chernin, Chairman of Malaria No More and President and COO of Fox Newscorp; and Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute.

A message from the Secretary-General was delivered via video. "In the time it takes me to read this message, six more children will die of this disease," said Mr Ban. "The toll it is taking is unacceptable, all the more so since malaria is preventable and treatable. Therefore, I am putting forth a bold but achievable goal. "We have the resources and we have the know-how and we have less than 1,000 days before the end of 2010," he added. "Let's go to work."