Today is World Malaria Day. As a mother of four, medical doctor, former minister of health of Senegal, and now executive director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, I have spent an important part of my personal life and professional career combating malaria and its devastating effects.

In the worst of times, this treatable and preventable disease was killing 3,000 African children every day. But after the launch of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership in 1998—a global initiative made up of hundreds of governments, civil society groups, and private companies—advocates succeeded in placing malaria high on the development agenda, and this once-neglected disease saw a groundswell of political and financial support.

Over the last ten years, a number of influential initiatives were created that have revolutionized the way we raise awareness and funds, deliver health care to communities, and develop new tools for malaria control.

And the results are tangible. Malaria treatment and prevention coverage improved in many malaria-endemic countries, particularly in Africa. For example, by the end of 2010, enough insecticide-treated nets had been delivered to cover 76 percent of Africa's populations at risk; while in 2000, only 5 percent of Africa's population owned a mosquito net.

Last year, the World Health Organization reported unprecedented progress: 43 countries across the world succeeded in reducing their malaria cases by at least 50 percent between 2000 and 2009. This figure includes 11 countries in sub-Saharan African that have slashed malaria cases and deaths by more than 50 percent. Furthermore, thanks particularly to the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a number of groundbreaking research & development (R&D) consortia have been created, and hundreds of new malaria control tools are now in the R&D pipelines.

But just as we have achieved record results, two global challenges threaten to reverse all of our hard-won gains: drug resistance and a gap in overall funding. The malaria parasite is smart; and if we don’t constantly keep up the pressure against it, it will come back in full force. We will need unwavering commitment, sustained funding, and better surveillance efforts.

The international community is now gearing toward near-zero malaria deaths by 2015, a goal as feasible as it is worthwhile. Bold vision and sustained political commitment are the keys to success. The international community simply needs to commit to doing what it takes, and this biblical scourge will be eliminated as a public health threat once and for all.

Because nobody wants to live in a world in which thousands of children die of a treatable and preventable disease every day—just because they are poor.