At the United Nations Summit in New York a bold plan to eradicate malaria begins to take shape. A detailed plan of action supported by 65 global institutions received some $3 billion in funding. Seattle-based PATH received $168.7 million from the Gates Foundation to expand the quest for a malaria vaccine.

The contributions include $1.62 billion by the Global Fund, $1.1 billion by the World Bank, $83 million by the U.K.'s Department for International Development, and $28 million by a coalition of global businesses.

The stated aim is to end malaria deaths by 2015, and eradicate the disease by 2020. Also, around $15 billion were pledged to halve world poverty.

While a vaccine is still not available for malaria, the only immediate way to reduce malaria deaths is the widespread use of bed nets and indoor spraying of insecticides. Also, diagnosis and treatment needs to be extended to all who need it. The problem is that most of those affected are some of the world's poorest, mostly African children.

Peter Chernin, president of News Corp and chairman of the nonprofit Malaria No More, argues that investing in fighting malaria offers a great potential return and that the money pledged will go a long way to defeating the disease and unlocking the potential of Africa.

Malaria is a disease caused by protozoan parasites which infects more than 500 million people annually, killing between one and three million of them, most of whom are young children in Sub-Saharan Africa.