The death toll from malaria seems to have responded to a big injection of money

OF 108 countries where malaria is endemic, ten are on track to eliminate the disease in the near future, according to a report by Roll Back Malaria published on October 18th. For many others getting to zero deaths from the parasite is a distant dream. But that should not stop a celebration of the progress that has been made over the past decade, during which time deaths from malaria have fallen by 20% (see chart). The correlation between reduced deaths and money spent is fairly strong, much more so than the correlation between conventional aid and economic development. Given that improved health often comes before advances in GDP per capita, spending on malaria may eventually show an even greater return than it already has to date.

Audio slideshow:Malaria's frontline