All those countries, except Pakistan and Afghanistan, occur in the WHO's South-East Asia region, which also includes India. In its 2009 global report on malaria, the World Health Organization said that the region, "received the least money per person at risk for malaria and saw the lowest increase in external financing between 2000 and 2007," adding that, in general, "High levels of external assistance are associated with increased procurement of commodities and decreases in malaria incidence."
The Indian study studied largely the effects of disease caused by Plasmodium falciparum mosquitoes, Dr. Snow noted in his Lancet editorial, and the less-studied disease burden a second species, P. vivax, might represent a larger threat in India still.
The malaria deaths study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, Canadian Institute of Health Research, and the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute. Neither the study authors nor Dr. Snow declared conflicts of interest.