Chinese philanthropist, Zhu Layi, who is CEO of New South is in talks with Kenyan health officials to do a mass drug administration (MDA) test run among 10,000 people in Mombasa, Kenya.

This follows and builds on a successful MDA effort where they eradicated malaria in the island nation of Comoros. It’s reported Zhu Layi has personally spent $300 million on MDA research and experiments in Africa.

According to the World Health Organization, almost half the global population is at risk for malaria Each year the disease afflicts 212 million people and kills 430,000 of them—nearly 1,200 deaths each day. Ninety percent of malaria cases and 92 percent of deaths occur in Africa.

Mass drug administration would involve giving antimalarial pills to every man, woman, and child in a given area all at once and has sparked ethical questions about giving medication to people who don’t have the treated disease. However, prominent researchers have stated that MDA and similar methods could help to totally eradicate malaria.

Read the full story in The Atlantic:

• China Is leading the next step in fighting Malaria in Africa by Jacob Kushner