“When I learned more about the disease from the doctors working actively on the disease I realized that I was lucky to be alive. They had rarely seen someone keep such high levels parasites in their blood and not die. It was a rude awakening to the reality of Malaria—it’s dangerous, and it can kill anyone. I felt very grateful and happy to have survived Malaria and to be able to share my story with others.

I was sick for about 2 months. My entire treatment costs were more than $200 US. The average person in Mali makes less than $1 a day. One million children in Africa die from the disease each year, due to the extreme poverty levels and not being able to afford proper diagnosis and treatment. Every 30 seconds a child dies of Malaria in Africa.”

— Coumba Makalou, What it feels like to have Malaria (2007)