The world has set goals to reduce child deaths, improve maternal health, and combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as other poverty-related challenges—the Millennium Development Goals. I’ll be discussing the MDGs more this week as part of the lead-up to TEDxChange, a TED event looking at the progress we’ve made toward achieving these goals. (You can RSVP for the live webcast via Facebook.)

Malaria is preventable and treatable with safe, effective, and affordable tools, yet there are still 250 million cases of malaria and about 800,000 deaths annually—the latter mostly among young children in 35 African countries. High coverage of effective malaria interventions, such as insecticide-treated bed nets and treatment programs, can dramatically reduce infections and save lives.

Estimates from recent studies show that insecticide-treated bed nets will prevent more than 20 percent of child malaria deaths in 2010. If malaria-endemic countries achieved universal coverage (e.g., everyone used bed nets), more than half of malaria deaths could be prevented. Additional data suggests that increasing malaria prevention and control efforts contributes to reducing overall child deaths.

Malaria No More, one of our grantees, is taking a creative approach to raising awareness about malaria. They’ve been a fantastic partner—find out more about them from this GOOD profile of their work. They’re working with the Senegalese singing sensation Youssou N’Dour to educate people through his song “Xeex Sibbiru.” The song—whose title translates “Fight Malaria” in Wolof (a language spoken in several African countries)—encourages listeners to take action against malaria. They’ve also launched an American Idol-style singing contest. The campaign encouraged musicians to write songs to raise awareness about malaria.

Listen to "Xeex Sibbiru," find out more about Malaria No More's Senegal "Surround Sound" campaign, and watch the contestants in an impromptu performance:

A few years ago, Bill and I challenged the health field to set a goal of eventually eradicating malaria. With inspirational examples such as these, it’s clear the world is making great progress against this disease. That’s why we remain optimistic that the goal of eradication will ultimately be met.