World bodies marked Africa Malaria Day Monday with progress reports on treatment of the disease that ravages sub-Saharan Africa.

The World Health Organization called for a more coordinated fight against the mosquito-borne illness and called attention to advances made in preventing transmission with insecticides and bed nets.

The World Bank announced a new funding initiative of up to one billion dollars over the next five years for prevention efforts.

This year's commemoration comes five years after the African Summit on Malaria in Nigeria, at which leaders agreed to a series of goals to cut in half the burden of malaria by 2010.

Meanwhile, a study published this week indicates a new drug combination has shown surprising success in areas where drug resistance has rendered older medications ineffective.

Some information for this report provided by World Bank and UN press release.