The Malaria Network web site.

Books & Electronic Media The Malaria Network web site http://www.malarianetwork.org A joint collaboration between the World Health Organization and the World Bank, maintained by the Department of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control, World Health Organi- zation, Geneva. The Malaria Network web site has been established by the World Health Organiza- tion (WHO) in collaboration with the World Bank to meet the needs of programme managers and senior health officers with specific responsibilities for implementation of malaria control. The principal objectives of the network are to facilitate the exchange of technical and managerial information and experiences relevant to the control of malaria. The site consists of two main sections: a general section that can be accessed freely and a restricted-access area for which participants need a user name and password provided by the web site administrator. The password-protected pages include restricted malaria-related documents and a discussion forum for malaria control programme man- agers and other experts to discuss specific operational issues. The following informa- tion is available from the free access area: . details on operational issues for malaria prevention and control; . WHO publications and documents on malaria; . news relevant to malaria-related issues (press releases, fact sheets, and epide- miological information); . links to major malaria-related web sites and other sites relevant to malaria prevention and control; . lists of upcoming conferences and semi- nars. The Malaria Network web site has been designed to be simple, clear and attractive to users, and the use of many colours and complicated designs has been avoided. A search facility has been included to permit easy access to available material. Most countries where malaria is en- demic are developing countries. The Malaria Network web site is mainly dedicated to these countries, with concerted efforts being made to facilitate the control programmes already in progress. The network is updated daily by a site moderator on the basis of advice obtained from experts affiliated to WHO. The site moderator also mediates the discussion forum, which provides a wider opportunity for users to post their contribu- tions, questions, and also to read malaria- related contributions from a wide range of sources. Although access to the Internet and other electronic media is increasing rapidly, malaria control programme managers and health officers from many developing coun- tries are unable to benefit from the Malaria Network because of lack of facilities. Even for those with access to the Internet, the associated costs prevent regular use. In recognition of these problems, WHO and the World Bank are giving financial support to more than 20 African countries where malaria is endemic to cover the purchase of modems, installation costs and Internet- service fees for one year. The project is being expanded to include other countries where malaria is endemic. This should greatly enhance the coordinated distribution of essential information on malaria to the countries that need it most. n Maru Aregawi & Elil Renganathan Social Mobilization, Advocacy and Training Communicable Disease Prevention and Control World Health Organization 1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland (e-mail: aregawim@who.ch; renganathane@who.ch) Awash Teklehaimanot Communicable Diseases Country Support Communicable Disease Prevention and Control World Health Organization 1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland (e-mail: teklehaimanota@who.ch) 706 # World Health Organization 1999 Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 1999, 77 (8)