The World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that despite modern medical technology, more than one million people die each year from malaria and between 350 million and 500 million people are infected with the disease each year. The biggest problem area remains Africa according to the WHO report released Tuesday.

This was the first comprehensive worldwide report on malaria ever done according to the WHO and UNICEF. According to the study, nine out of 10 deaths from malaria are in sub-Saharan Africa and effect children under the age of five. An African child dies of the disease every 30 seconds.

Ann Veneman, the executive director of UNICEF said, 'The numbers are astounding and unacceptable,' since the disease is 'largely preventable and utterly treatable. At present malaria remains the infectious disease that takes more lives of children in Africa than any other -- three times as many as HIV,' she said.

Malaria is spread through mosquitos. In addition to sub-Saharan Africa, other hard hit areas include Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific and the Mediterranean region.

Something as simple as treated bed nets can prevent roughly half of the cases of malaria WHO officials said. However, it is estimated that only five percent of all children in Africa slept in one. While they cost between $2 and $5 (US), that is far too expensive for poor families in the region. The agency said it would cost approximately $3.2 billion to effectively treat the disease in Africa but last year, the world spent a mere $600 million.

Despite the relative ease that would exist in treating the disease, one million die needlessly from malaria each year. It remains an overlooked and preventable cause of death in the world today.