Asian nations pledge to step up malaria battle

Health ministers from 11 south and southeast Asian nations have ended a two-day meeting in the Bangladesh capital, pledging to step up the fight against malaria.

The ministers have agreed to boost spending on disease prevention and set a target of giving 80 percent of households access to pesticide-treated mosquito nets by 2010.

Health ministers and officials from 11 countries attended the two-day World Health Organisation regional meeting in Dhaka, where they discussed the prevalence of drug-resistant malaria within the Asian region.

- RADIO AUSTRALIA