The Global Fund prepared a midyear assessment of anti-malarial efforts in advance of the meeting, reporting distribution of 190 million bed nets, since 2003, to families living in vulnerable countries.

Indoor pesticide treatment in infested regions is another prevention campaign that has been stepped up in recent years. The Global Fund reports that 36 million indoor spraying services were provided in 2011, a 31 percent increase from a year ago. The World Health Organization estimates that three-quarters of the population of sub-Saharan Africa now has access to malaria prevention methods.

Zambia offered a detailed report of its progress earlier in June. The nation’s minister of health said malaria intervention has saved the lives of an estimated 33,000 children and resulted in an almost 30 percent decrease in child mortality.

Minister Kapembwa Simbao said the improvements are not merely statistical. “Zambians are healthier, school attendance has improved, and a more productive workforce free from malaria now reports for work uninterrupted, thus contributing to the economic development of our nation,” he said.

It has been documented that the hours of schooling, work, vitality and productivity lost to malaria had direct economic consequences for sub-Saharan nations struggling to advance economically. Despite recent progress against the disease, estimates by the Global Fund say that malaria still costs the continent an estimated $12 billion annually.

Compiled by the Zambian Ministry of Health and produced by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, Zambia’s report also provides evidence about the fragile nature of progress and the need for constant vigilance. Three Zambian districts cut back on malaria prevention and monitoring between 2008 and 2010 because of budget constraints, according to the report. The move resulted in a measurable resurgence in cases of the disease.

Roll Back Malaria Partnership Director Awa Coll-Seck said, “Zambia’s experience is proof of the significant progress that can be made against malaria in a relatively short period of time, but it also illustrates the fragility of those gains.”