As how Hicks explains it:

The Lifelens Smartphone app is simple. Take a drop of blood from a patient and put it on a slide with a marker, a dye that only the malarial parasite can absorb. Then, take an image of that slide with the Smartphone equipped with a tiny lens giving 350 times magnification and you can see the blood cells at the cellular level. With the image captured in the Smartphone you can take a cell count using a detection algorithm that identifies different artifacts in the image that identifies red blood cells and from there, you can identify the malaria within those red blood cells. Once the Lifelens’ app identifies the cells, data can be pushed to the web including the GPS coordinates of that case which allow healthcare works or scientists to see trends as well as where malaria outbreaks are occurring. There is also a web portal feature that can put all of the information they have on cases and lay over a mobile map giving a universal snapshot of where malaria is clustered globally.

The Lifelens app of course is just one example of how smartphone technology is leading to major breakthroughs in combatting extreme poverty and infectious disease. What other examples have you noticed recently?

What I remember most clearly were her eyes.

A young mother, whose only son had died a few weeks earlier, sat with her husband across the single room of a tidy but impossibly small hut in the Gambia. I sat on the boy’s now empty bed.

The story was all too familiar. He had been a perfectly happy little boy of 18 months until a few days earlier when he had become irritable, then feverish, and in less than 48 hours, slipped into an unresponsive state punctuated by seizures. Sometime during the night, after receiving ineffective treatment, his life slipped away.

Now, his mother’s eyes were brimming with tears and a profound sense of loss.

Last week, I thought back to that day as the world marked an important milestone in the quest for a malaria vaccine. A vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline, in partnership with PATH’s Malaria Vaccine Initiative, provides 56 percent efficacy against malaria clinical malaria and 47 percent efficacy against severe disease over the first 12 months following vaccination in children 5 to 17 months of age. If all goes well, the vaccine could be ready in 2015.

My trip to The Gambia in the early 1990s was to get a better feel for the impact malaria has on those who live under its constant threat. The pain of loss I could only imagine from the look in that mother’s eyes. Though the pain of illness, I knew.

In the spring of 1987, I was a young Major leading an experimental challenge study of the world’s first candidate malaria vaccine that had been collaboratively developed by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, the US National Institutes of Health and GSK. There was a tradition in our institution that before giving a new vaccine to strangers, you were to test it on yourself.

So, together with a handful of my research buddies at WRAIR, we rolled up our sleeves and injected each other with something called FSV-1.

A few weeks later we rolled up our sleeves again, this time to let five hungry mosquitoes, all heavily infected with falciparum malaria, feed on our blood to test the vaccine. The results were fascinating and extremely important –one of the team members was completely protected, showing for the first time that a vaccine could actually protect a human from malaria. Unfortunately, that person was not me.

It was the worst illness I have ever experienced. I clearly remember a series of profound symptoms starting with chills that literally caused my entire body to shake, followed by a high fever and severe headache, then by drenching, sheet-soaking sweats, and finally a period of utter exhaustion and a sense of relief that I was going to be OK. Then the whole eight-hour cycle would repeat. I received treatment within 24 hours of my first symptoms, but the final cycle did not resolve until two days later. I was left physically and mentally drained -– but also with an absolutely clear vision about what my life’s work would be.

Over the next decade I worked with colleagues at GSK to develop and test a series of vaccine candidates, but none seemed to work. Everything changed in 1997 when we hit upon RTS,S –- a revolutionary strategy developed by GSK scientists led by my friend and colleague Joe Cohen. The results were astounding –six of seven volunteers who got the vaccine were protected.

This set the stage for a long, sometimes frustrating, but incredibly exciting development program, which has included such partners as the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative -– with monies from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -– and a team of world-class African researcher leading the trial on the ground, among many others. Appropriately enough, the first of field trial in Africa was conducted in the Gambia, not far from the village I had visited years earlier. RTS,S did not come in time to help that little boy. But when I think about the millions of children who might be protected from malaria in the future, it makes me proud to have been one of the hundreds of committed scientists around the world who have worked on this project.

It also makes me believe that the team motto my WRAIR colleagues borrowed from Cato the Elder, “Malaria Delenda Est” (malaria must be defeated), will someday come true. There is still a long road ahead, but the possibility of one day having a safe, effective vaccine to add to the other tools against malaria is something I think about every day.

Dr. Ripley Ballou is vice president & head of clinical research & translational Science at GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals

… And talked the talk with 260 people who signed up to join ONE at the 23rd annual AIDS Walk Colorado. AIDS Walk Colorado is the Rocky Mountain Region’s largest and most successful HIV and AIDS fundraiser.

Fifteen ONE volunteers participated in this year’s walk and collectively raised $100 for HIV/AIDS programs. Congressional candidate and several members of his campaign staff also walked in support of ONE, happily donning ONE bands. Overall, 8,200 people participated in this year’s AIDS Walk and raised more than $400,000 dollars.

In addition, we’re proud to announce that ONE Colorado’s brother-sister congressional district leader team, Megan and Joe Marsh, participated in the walk and were even featured in the Huffington Post in advance of the event.

Congratulations to all of the volunteers who helped make this ONE Vote Colorado’s most successful event yet!

Be sure to connect with other ONE Vote 2010 Colorado members on Facebook and Twitter.

- Nick Stevens, ONE Vote 2010 organizer, Colorado

Cholera outbreak kills 200 in Cameroon: Cholera has killed 200 people in Cameroon and aid agencies feared the outbreak could spread to neighboring regions and nations. The disease is caused by contaminated water and about 70 percent of people living in the country’s far north region, bordering Nigeria and Chad, do not have access to potable water. Sanitation is also limited in the area and recent flooding has aggravated the situation. (CNN)

Reform in Rwanda: The Financial Times argues there are two reasons Paul Kagame was re-elected to Rwandan president with 93 percent of the vote. First, Kagame has turned Rwanda into one of the least corrupt, most secure countries in Africa. Second, he eliminated any opposition. (Financial Times)

Party Says Nigeria President Can Run in Vote: Nigeria’s ruling party is allowing President Goodluck Jonathan to run in next year’s election, despite an informal agreement calling for a Muslim candidate. The unwritten agreement calls for the presidency to alternate between Christians and Muslims. (Wall Street Journal)

Sierra Leone: New Agriculture Plan Sprouts: Sierra Leone’s finance minister has announced the government will increase the agriculture budget from 7.7 percent to 9.9 percent. The budget will go to facilitating and strengthening small and medium scale farmers as well as promoting large scale farming and the development of agri-business. The budget is also intended to facilitate access to markets for selected commodities like rice, oil palm, cocoa and fisheries. (Mohamed Fofanah, AllAfrica.com)

Uganda: Donors Should Review Aid Cut : Development partners plan a 10% cut of their $360M contribution to Uganda’s budget this year because of government corruption. The New Vision argues however that donors should know that the aid cut will impact the poor more negatively than the state officials, as social services will most likely be cut because of budget constraints. (New Vision)

Kenya not out of woods despite constitution vote: Kenya’s long-awaited new constitution is facing a lengthy implementation process that could take years. The law that aims to check presidential powers and curb the corruption, political patronage, land-grabbing and tribalism faces challenges of competing politicians sharing positions on the implementation committee. The concern is whether politicians who opposed the law will try to block it if chosen to be on the committee. (James Macharia, Reuters)

This month, we’ll be featuring blog posts that help illustrate how the Global Fund affects programs that fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world. In this article, Dr. Joia Mukherjee of Partners in Health (PIH), who participated in our ONE Haiti conference call in January, highlights the partnership between the Fund and PIH.

It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since all 191 United Nations member states agreed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Yet the lack of progress on the final one — a global partnership for development — has hampered the achievement of all others. The one shining light in such a partnership for global development is the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

The Global Fund was partly established by activists in the developed and developing world, otherwise known as the “global North and South.” Many of these activists were living with HIV and wanted to start an organization that could help achieve universal HIV/AIDS treatment.

The Fund is a novel mechanism; it is a multilateral fund, independent of the United Nations and financed by donors from the government and private sector. Its structure has allowed even some of the poorest countries to expand treatment for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria as a basic right for free, largely through the public sector, with support from non-government organizations and the private sector.

The Fund has put more money into the public health sector than any previous initiative, and a consortium convened by the World Health Organization documented the positive synergies that this money has had not just on MDG 6 — combating AIDS, malaria and other diseases — but the health sector in general.

My organization, PIH, has been working to provide health care and improve the social determinants of health for the destitute for more than 20 years. As one of the recipients of first-round Global Fund monies in Haiti, we set out to build public sector health systems and tackle poverty as a critical component to our HIV response.

This work, supported by the Global Fund since its inception, has resulted in the rehabilitation and revitalization of 52 public facilities in ten countries around the globe. The public sector-NGO community partnership that has developed in the course of this work is poised to meet 4 and 5, the other health-related MDGs as well.

As the 2010 MDG summit approaches and the challenges to achieve the MDGs are addressed, it is critical to note the importance that dedicated funding for MDG 6 has had not only in achieving the right to HIV, TB and malaria treatment, but in improving the systems to deliver health care around the world.

Clinton rues Africa corruption, trade barriers –Trade barriers, poor infrastructure and corruption are holding back efforts to boost and diversify Africa’s trade, said Secretary Clinton. She stressed the administration’s efforts to “boost trade and aid effectiveness” through their trade and development strategy. (Reuters)

Obama convenes forum of young African leaders – Declaring that “Africa’s future belongs to its young people,” President Obama met with more than 100 young African entrepreneurs from across the continent Tuesday. On the topic of HIV/AIDS, he stressed the need for successful prevention programs to bolster traditional donor funding. (Stephen Kendrick, ABC)

Kenya Stakes Reinvention on Constitution Vote – Kenyans are voting today on a new constitution that hems in Kenya’s imperial-style presidency, devolves more power to local government and creates a bill of rights. Donor nations, including the U.S., are eager to see it pass, having invested in voter drives and civic education campaigns. (Jeffrey Gettleman, The New York Times)

Education key to empowering women – The State Department’s Robert Hormats highlights last week’s African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program, which brought together 34 African women business leaders to connect with peers and U.S. policymakers. He stresses investing in education as critical to empowering more female leaders in the future. (Huffington Post)

Experts roll out malaria map, urge mosquito study – Nearly 3 billion people – two-fifths of the world’s population – were at risk of contracting malaria in 2009 and closer study of the mosquito’s life cycle, including what occurs beyond the blood feeding processes, is needed to combat the disease, maintained researchers in two reports release Tuesday. (Tan Ee Lyn, Reuters)

New literary series views Africa through African eyes – Fourteen African writers have set out to document Africa’s diversity in a series of books and blogs partly inspired by the World Cup, with hopes of highlighting a continent often framed as a monolithic block blighted by conflict, hunger and corruption. (Yinka Ibukun, Washington Post)

Unlearned lessons in the Sahel – Millions in the eastern Sahel are facing famine, just as they did in 2005 – yet the response from some major aid donors has been no swifter than it was then, says the Guardian. Though aid agencies have mustered support where they can, donor governments from Canada to Germany seem to be “stuck in the same mindset.” (The Guardian)

In South Africa, a push for industrial growth – The South African government and a new breed of entrepreneurs are working to change the perception of their country as having an unstable work environment and climb the industrial ladder, with investments in sectors like clean energy, aviation and engineering. (Matthew Saltmarsh, The New York Times)

Obama to lead young African leaders forum – President Obama will be meeting with 115 young African leaders from the public and private sectors along with their American counterparts, as part of a town hall event, where he plans to discuss the administration’s vision for Africa for the next 50 years and the partnerships the U.S. and African countries can foster. (UPI)

Malaria research centers receive millions in new grants – Malaria control and elimination efforts have received a $106 million grant for ten new centers aimed at strengthening research and training capacity in endemic regions around the world, including Africa and Asia. (Eva Aguilar, SciDev.net)

Britain Celebrates Africa Women’s Day – Women from Britain and Africa came together over the weekend to celebrate the progress made for women’s rights in Africa as part of the African Union’s naming 2010 to 2020 the African Women’s Decade. The event also highlighted a 2005 piece of legislation that requires states to eliminate harmful practices against women. (Selah Hennessy, VOA)

Our Policy Team has outlined the both challenge and opportunity presented by polio in a policy brief which you can read here. It’s as good a recap as you’re likely to find on our battle against this infectious disease.

Which reminds me– check out this clip from Bill and Melinda Gates’s “Impatient Optimists” presentation in which they outline some of the key successes in combating polio:

During the latest 12-month reporting period, 2.3 million infectious patients were cured, more than ever before in that time frame. Still, not enough people are accessing the treatment they need, and about 1.8 million people died of tuberculosis in 2008.

There were an estimated 9.27 million incident cases of TB in 2007 (of which, 15% percent were among individuals who were also HIV-positive), a slight increase from 9.24 million in 2006. However, while the total number of TB cases is up due to population growth, the number of cases per capita is actually down 1%.

The report shows further progress in addressing the deadly combination of TB and HIV. TB remains the leading cause of death for those with HIV, but testing TB patients for HIV is on the rise, and more patients are receiving appropriate treatment.

The report also notes that there has been little progress in stopping multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), an even more dangerous and resistant to treatment form of TB.

To learn more, you can read the full report, as well as the WHO’s press release.

Senator Frist also has an op-ed in today’s Washington Times on the state of Africa’s children which you can read here.

You can check out the clip here, partial transcript below:

These deaths are preventable, and it’s cheap and we know how to do that. And people think of malaria and HIV and tuberculosis– all very serious– but the number one disease is cardiovascular disease. And we must continue to focus on malaria and bed nets, but simply clean water can go further in saving lives inexpensively around the world.

-Chris Scott