Film maker Richard Curtis is urging Commonwealth leaders to keep up the fight against malaria.
Mr Curtis, who helped found Red Nose Day and is now a UN development advocate, said this week’s meeting of leaders in London was a historic opportunity to combat the mosquito-borne disease that kills a child every two minutes.
In 2016 there were an estimated 216 million cases of malaria worldwide, 445,000 of which were fatal, with the majority in sub-Saharan Africa.
Six of the 10 countries with the highest incidence of malaria are members of the Commonwealth.
Mr Curtis is calling on leaders to commit to halving malaria cases in the next five years as scientists fight to eradicate it by 2030.
He said: “After recent successes, the fight against malaria has been stalling recently. Death rates had been slashed by 60 per cent in just 15 years.
"But funding has shifted — progress has stalled. The death rate has stopped falling. This is a tragedy not only in the precious lives lost. No country can prosper when huge swathes of their people are afflicted with a vile medieval diseases.”
The Notting Hill writer said the outcome of today’s Malaria Summit could potentially save countless lives.
He said: “Polio is nearly done, the battle against mother-to-children transmission of HIV is being won. And now — this week — the Commonwealth is making colossal strides in the fight against malaria.
"Defeating malaria could be the single most important priority in lifting Africa out of poverty.
“The is a genuinely historic moment that will help save countless lives and free up the world from the curse of one of the nastiest diseases around.”
