Mr Bush said defeating malaria would not require a miracle

Speaking at a White House event, he said 500,000 insecticide-laced bed nets would be sent to Zambia and Uganda.

Mr Bush also announced the launch of an initiative in Madagascar to address the dual threats of malaria and polio.

US officials say their two-year-old malaria programme has already helped an estimated 11 million people in Africa.

Tens of millions of Africans are affected by malaria.

More than o­ne million people die each year from the mosquito-borne disease, which is the leading cause of death of children under five.

Turning the tide

Mr Bush - whose $1.2bn (£500m) programme aims to halve the disease's mortality rates in target nations within five years - said the disease was both preventable and curable.

"On this special day, we renew our commitment to lead the world toward an urgent goal, and that is to turn the tide against malaria in Africa, and around the globe," he said.

Mr Bush said stemming the disease required distributing insecticide-treated bed nets, expanding insecticide spraying, providing anti-malaria medicine to pregnant women and delivering cutting-edge drugs to sufferers.