To mark World Malaria Day, the BSI has created this dedicated page of malaria-related educational resources for schools; the perfect partner to our malaria Bite-sized Immunology article by Sarah Nogaro and Eleanor Riley.
Malaria is a leading cause of death and disease worldwide. In 2017 alone, an estimated 435,000 people were killed by the disease. Over the past decade, investment in malaria control has saved lives: in Africa, where 9 out of 10 malaria deaths occur, malaria deaths have fallen by a third; outside of Africa, 35 of the 53 countries affected by malaria have undergone a 50% reduction in cases. But the concern is that without a significant injection of funding, this remarkable progress will stagnate or even unwind. World Malaria Day aims to address this by educating and mobilising people.
Resources
The BSI's introduction to malaria poster
This poster could be stuck to the wall or used as a hand-out. It would be best suited to classes of 14-18-year-olds but could also be used with younger students. The poster covers the causes of malaria and symptoms, how the disease is diagnosed, the immune response, treatment, prevention and vaccination. The majority of the images used in this poster were kindly supplied by EVIMalaR (see below).
To watch: Life cycle of malaria animations
These high-quality, commentated animations illustrate the life cycle of the malaria parasite in both humans and mosquitos. Created by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (makers of excellent educational resources), the videos help explain clearly this rather complex topic.
Level: suitable for all ages.