Around half the world’s population is at risk from malaria, a preventable and treatable disease that claims the life of a child every minute.

Just five years ago it was estimated that globally, malaria killed nearly a million people each year, with most of these deaths occurring in Africa in children under the age of five.

More than 90% of all malaria deaths occur in Africa. Because most malaria transmission occurs in rural areas, the greatest burden of the disease usually falls on families who have lower incomes and whose access to health care is most limited.

The impact of malaria on economic growth and development is also immense, costing families, businesses and nations dearly.

As we observe World Malaria Day on April 25, I’m encouraged to note the substantial progress being made in delivering malaria prevention tools and providing treatment to those with confirmed malaria diagnoses.

Progress against malaria is one of development’s most impressive stories.

Global efforts to control and eliminate malaria have saved an estimated 3.3 million lives since 2000, reducing malaria mortality rates by 42% globally and 49% in Africa.

But we are not there yet. Malaria still kills an estimated 627 000 people every year, mainly children under 5 years of age in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Rwanda, political commitment and vigilant program management have resulted in a dramatic reduction in malaria cases and deaths over the past decade. Malaria is no longer the number one cause of sickness and death.

Deaths in children under five have dropped by half over the past decade; that drop occurred with increases in bednet ownership and use, increased access to treatment for malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea at the community level through community health workers, and over 90% laboratory confirmed diagnosis of malaria throughout the country.

Rwanda envisions zero malaria deaths by 2020 and the United States is committed to work and support the Malaria and Other Parasitic Diseases Division (MOPDD) to achieve this ambitious and unprecedented goal

Partnerships with host country governments, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Bank Booster Program for Malaria Control, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and many others make this possible.

The U.S. Government has taken extraordinary steps to curb the spread of this preventable and curable disease.

The U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), led by USAID and implemented together with CDC, is working in 19 focus countries in Africa, including Rwanda. In 2013 alone, PMI working along with the MOPDDand other malaria stakeholders, protected over 30 million people by spraying more than seven million houses with insecticides.

PMI procured more than 21 million long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets, procured more than 72 million artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) treatments and procured over 28 million rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs).

In spite of this progress, malaria prevention and control remains a matter of urgent public health for the world, especially in Africa. These gains, whilst encouraging, are fragile.

It is vital that efforts are sustained and expanded through a combination of increased national and international political will, investment on the ground and ongoing research and development to combat emerging threats like drug and insecticide resistance.

Removing malaria as a major public health threat is a key part of the U.S. Government (USG) Global Health Initiative (GHI) and the collective effort to end preventable child deaths. Successful malaria control has a dramatic impact on the health, productivity and well-being of people living in malaria risk areas.

Not only are we saving lives, we are helping advance progress toward other key development goals including increasing maternal and child survival, improving health of people living with HIV, reducing school absenteeism and fighting poverty.

The U.S. government is pleased to work with Rwanda to fight this preventable disease, and we look forward to seeing our joint investment in Rwanda’s future pay off.

Malaria Day 2014 also marks the release of PMI’s eighth annual malaria report. This report outlines the U.S. Government’s (USG’s) contributions to a dramatic scale-up of malaria prevention and treatment measures. For full report, see www.pmi.gov.

{Author is US Ambassador to Rwanda}