Elimination of Malaria May Not Be Feasible, Experts Warn

Health experts are doubtful as to whether the lofty goal set by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in Seattle, to eradicate malaria can be achieved soon, reports The New York Times.

Hardly any experts expect malaria to be gone in the next few decades, believing that a vaccine to protect people from the disease is still a very distant reality.

Arata Kochi, chief of malaria for the World Health Organization, criticized the Gates foundation for pressuring scientists to follow its approach to fighting malaria. Dr. Kochi thinks money donated by the foundation and others would be better spent on mosquito nets, medicines, and pesticides — which, he says, could cut the number of cases by 90 percent instead of finding a vaccine.

“Eliminating the last 10 percent is a tremendous task and very expensive,” said Dr. Kochi.

One leader of an organization supported by the Gates foundation, who was quoted anonymously in the article, joked in front of a group of scientists that it was wise to support the goal of quick eradication “if you want to get funded.”

Regina Rabinovich, head of infectious diseases for the Gates foundation, said that decisions on whether to support research were not based “on whether or not people agree with public statements made by Bill and Melinda.”

See The Chronicle’s article on the controversy over the Gates Foundation and malaria research.

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