“The United Nations and a coalition of partners [on Tuesday] launched a comprehensive approach to fighting malaria, a disease which — despite tremendous advances — still kills an estimated 660,000 people each year and poses a major challenge to development,” the U.N. News Centre reports. “With the participation of world leaders gathered in New York for the 68th General Assembly, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM) and the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) launched the Multisectoral Action Framework for Malaria [.pdf], which calls for greater coordinated action among different development sectors to tackle the disease,” the news service writes. “The framework identifies actions to address the social and environmental determinants of malaria, and calls for current malaria strategies to be complemented by a broader development approach, according to a UNDP news release,” the news service states (9/24).

“According to [UNDP Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan]: ‘Stronger global health partnerships and greater funding in recent years have already resulted in unprecedented progress, with a 25 percent decrease in global malaria deaths,'” according to PANA/Afrique Jet. “‘Factors that increase vulnerability to malaria infection, however, often lie outside the health sector, involving housing, education, urban planning, agriculture, transportation and other areas,’ she added,” the news service notes (9/25). In similar news, Malaria No More on Monday announced a new public awareness and fundraising campaign, titled “Power of One (Po1), where a one dollar donation provides a life-saving test and treatment for a child in Africa,” Malaria No More/RYOT.org reports (9/23).