Malaria: The Battle against a Microscopic Killer

This interactive, "intelligent" comic book explores the ongoing battle with the parasite that causes malaria, by going inside the labs and the clinics where scientists are working to put an end to the disease. It is designed to serve as an educational tool that engages the next generation of malaria researchers, allowing students in schools and colleges around the world to learn about the disease, how it is transmitted, and what the scientific community is doing to fight it. The comic book also outlines the history of malaria research, involving the collaboration of research institutes and researchers around the world, from the experiments of nineteenth-century scientists to the modern-day effort.

The resource is an output of the European Virtual Institute of Malaria Research (EVIMalaR), a project funded by the European Commission, consisting of 62 partners across 51 institutes in Europe, Africa, India, and Australia, and coordinated at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. The project aims to facilitate research between these scientists to understand and ultimately eradicate malaria. The comic book premiered at the European Commission's Research Open Day in Brussels, Belgium, in May 2012.

A July 2013 update from EVIMalaR: "the resource has been translated into eight different languages - of which over two thousand have been downloaded, and four thousand copies [have] been printed. To keep the momentum going, several ideas have been exchanged and are now in progress to ensure maximum outreach is accomplished.

• Preparations are underway to create an elementary reading level for children from ages five to eleven. This will be designed to educate young children on what malaria is, how it is transmitted and what the scientific community is doing to fight it.
• New African languages are being translated for the comic. These are Zulu, Afrikaans, Sepedi and Igala. With these new translations; half will be put on the website to download, and the other half will go to print where they can be disseminated out, particularly in the more rural parts of Africa where even the smallest piece of knowledge could potentially save a life."