Saving Lives, Buying Time

For more than 50 years, low-cost antimalarial drugs silently saved millions of lives and cured billions of debilitating infections. Today, however, these drugs no longer work against the deadliest form of malaria that exists throughout the world. Malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africacurrently just over one million per yearare rising because of increased resistance to the old, 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 of Resistance examines the history of malaria treatments, provides an overview of the current drug crisis, and offers recommendations on maximizing access to and effectiveness of antimalarial drugs. The book finds that most people in endemic countries will not have access to currently effective combination treatments, 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. Table of Contents Front Matter Executive Summary Part 1: A Response to the Current Crisis1 Malaria Today 2 The Cost and Cost-Effectiveness of Antimalarial Drugs 3 The Case for a Global Subsidy of Antimalarial Drugs 4 An International System for Procuring Anitmalarial Drugs Part 2: Malaria Basics5 A Brief History of Malaria 6 The Parasite, the Mosquito, and the Disease 7 The Human and Economic Burden of Malaria 8 Malaria Control 9 Antimalarial Drugs and Drug Resistance Part 3: Advancing Toward Better Malaria Control10 Research and Development for New Antimalarial Drugs 11 Maximizing the Effective Use of Antimalarial Drugs Acronyms and Abbreviations Glossary Index