United Nations: Malaria as a mass child killer would be virtually eliminated globally by 2015 under a plan backed by nearly USD 3 billion in pledges, officials said.

With the number of malaria deaths approaching 1 million a year, most of them infants and toddlers, the infectious disease has become a scourge in remote areas of Africa and Southeast Asia.

"So many of our nations have been crippled by malaria," Rwandan President Paul Kagame said yesterday.

The plan aims to reduce those deaths to almost zero within just seven years by providing better access to bed nets, indoor spraying, improved diagnosis and treatment, preventative measures for pregnant women and development of new vaccines.

Ray Chambers, a US philanthropist who serves as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon s special envoy for malaria, said the disease kills more children in Africa than any other disease and costs the continent USD 30 billion a year in health costs and economic losses.

"But we re not here just because malaria is a massive problem," Chambers said as host to a packed hotel conference room. "Malaria is also a massive opportunity. No other issue in the world offers the chance to save lives or improve livelihoods on the same scale."

The plan was unveiled with much hoopla yesterday by UN officials, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, U2 frontman Bono, "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller, News Corp s president Peter Chernin and other heads of state and ministers from Australia, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Zambia.
Source : PTI