Saving Lives, Buying Time

For more than 50 years, low-cost antimalarial drugs silently saved millionsof lives and cured billions of debilitating infections. Today, however, thesedrugs no longer work against the deadliest form of malaria that existsthroughout the world. Malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africacurrently justover one million per yearare rising because of increased resistance to theold, inexpensive drugs. Although effective new drugs called 'artemisinins'are available, they are unaffordable for the majority of the affected population,even at a cost of one dollar per course. Saving Lives, Buying Time: Economics of Malaria Drugs in an Age ofResistance examines the history of malaria treatments, provides an overviewof the current drug crisis, and offers recommendations on maximizingaccess to and effectiveness of antimalarial drugs. The book finds that most peoplein endemic countries will not have access to currently effective combinationtreatments, which should include an artemisinin, without financing from the global community. Without funding for effective treatment, malaria mortality could double over the next 10 to 20 years and transmission will intensify.