A British group reported last week that malaria research is severely underfunded compared to other diseases when its relative incidence and global death toll are taken into account.
According to the just published report titled Malaria Research: An Audit of the International Activity (Wellcome Trust, London 1996), global spending on malaria research in 1993 was $84 million -- $42 for each of the 1.5 million to 2.7 million people who die from the disease each year.
In contrast, the researchers estimated that $3,274 is spent for every AIDS death and $789 for every asthma death. And the prevalence of malaria is on the rise.
Global funding for malaria has been declining since 1985 reflecting the withdrawal of American military personnel from overseas. Still, about half of all malaria research funding comes from U.S. sources, including the U.S. Agency for International Development and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
Several thoughts come to mind (in no particular order):
- Aren't we lucky that our society can afford public health researchers whose sole purpose is to fantasize about mythical threats to health such as ozone depletion, environmental estrogens, pesticide residues, chlorinated drinking water, etc.?
- What kind of public health system supports the notion that one AIDS death is worth 78 malaria deaths? We've all heard about "environmental justice." What about "public health justice?"
- Is it really that smart to stop using DDT? Let's ask the families of the 1.5 million to 2.7 million annual malaria victims.
Marie Antoinette's solution to the late-18th century bread famine in France was "Let them eat cake." For that and other offenses, she was guillotined during the French Revolution.
Apparently, the public health establishment's position 200 years later is "Let them get malaria." But will heads roll again?
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