MAPUTO, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has pledged to grant 1.48 million U.S. dollars to be used in programs to prevent and control malaria in nine districts of the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, AIM reported on Thursday.

    This sum is part of 10.5 million dollars to finance similar programs being developed in six African countries, namely Kenya, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Zambia, and Uganda.

    This money is to expand malaria prevention activities in the communities most affected by the disease, benefiting particularly children under five and pregnant women.

    In Mozambique, this money will finance activities of the Aga Khan Foundation in partnership with the NGO “Progresso” and the Health Ministry, directly benefiting 400,000 people in three years.

    Besides prevention programmes, the money will also be used to improve access to artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT) and promote the use of insecticide treated mosquito nets.