Humboldt hopes

dramatically since 2006, especially in the wake of the UN secretary-general's call for universal malaria control coverage by the end of 2010. " The report reveals that new methods of estimating malaria incidence found 247 million cases of the disease in 2006. However, malaria deaths have declined in several countries and, in a few African nations, deaths have been reduced by half by the implementation of recommended measures. But in Africa one measure is still largely unavailable. The WHO-recommended artemisin-based combination therapy reached only 3 per cent of children in need, the report found. But it found that recent increases in malaria funding were beginning to translate into coverage of key malaria interventions, especially bednets, by 2006. The percentage of children protected by insecticide-treated nets increased almost eightfold, from 3 per cent in 2001 to 23 per cent in the 18 African countries where surveys were carried out in 2006. By the same year, about 100 million people, including 22 million in Africa, were protected by indoor spraying of insecticide. " For the first time, three African countries reported dramatic reductions in malaria deaths by 50 per cent or more. Eritrea, Rwanda and Sao Tome and Principe achieved this result between 2000 and 2006–2007, the report says, through a mix of bednet distribution, indoor insecticide spraying, improved access to treatment and advances in disease surveillance. Significant improvements were also found in Madagascar, Zambia and Tanzania. The improvements in Africa reflect increased funding — the continent had a larger increase from external donors than any other region between 2004 and 2006. But there are still concerns about the pattern of funding for malaria. Researchers at the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Nairobi reported last month that spending varies widely between countries. They found the spending per person at risk was as low as one cent in Burma, but as high as $147 in Surinam in South America. But the new funds, with a particular focus on Africa, should push countries in that continent up the league. Nearly two centuries ago, Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835) wrote a memorandum for the creation of a new university in Berlin. He emphasized three key principles, which came to be regarded as defining characteristics of the modern European universities, namely: unity of research and teaching, freedom of teaching, and academic self-governance. Humboldt very much regarded the production of highly educated people as an end in itself, …